


There's a world outside

by lillaseptember



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst, Drama, Explicit Language, F/F, F/M, Fluff, Friendship, M/M, Multi, Romance, and everything else that comes with being a hormonal teenager, heavy friendships, i'm in over my head, platonic love all around
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-08-10
Updated: 2014-09-27
Packaged: 2018-02-11 11:48:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 43,376
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2067006
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lillaseptember/pseuds/lillaseptember
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>High school. Four years of heaven or hell. Or something in between. Either way, it’s easy to get caught up in the constant flow of homework and gossip and activities. But after some eventful 10 months, the pupils of Trost High School are forced to face the harsh truth. That there actually exists a world outside.</p><p>Or;</p><p>In which Connie and Sasha are the huge dorks we all know and love, Armin falls helplessly in love with Annie, Mikasa tries to keep Eren out of trouble, and Jean, Marco, Ymir, Christa, Reiner and Bertholdt all try to outgay each other. And Levi and Erwin are gay old men in love.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Everybody's changing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _“So little time_   
>  _Try to understand that I'm_   
>  _Trying to make a move just to stay in the game_   
>  _I try to stay awake and remember my name_   
>  _But everybody's changing_   
>  _And I don't feel the same”_   
>  **\- Keane, “Everybody’s Changing”**
> 
> * * *

Everything changed during our junior year.

* * *

I have always found it fascinating how everything seems to slow down during a catastrophe.

Like when you see someone drop a glass of water, and that single second it takes for the glass to reach the floor, the whole world seems to fall into slow motion, and you can see the individual droplets of water that's dancing through the air before crashing to the ground. Like when you slip, and you have time to calculate how and why you made the wrong step before you even start preparing to cushion your landing. Or like when you are watching your high school burn down to the ground, with flames slowly reaching high up into the sky and ash dangling all around you.

That Friday afternoon was just one long slow motion scene.

* * *

Trost is a small town quite in its own.

When you grow up in a small town like Trost, with only endless fields of wheat and corn and tallgrass surrounding you in a radius of only God knows how long, you learn the importance of both independence and community spirit from an early age. You need to be able to stand on your own two feet if the rest of the world would fail you, but if there's one thing you are going to put your faith in, it's the community of Trost.

Officially founded in the late 19th century, Trost has a sterling and proud history. We celebrate Founders day with pomp and circumstance and a grand parade in the height of summer, and six months later we don the entire town in Christmas decorations for the annual market. In the autumn the downtown streets are filled with red and golden leaves, and the spring is known for its vigorous downpour. But everyone knows that the sun always shines the brightest after a devout storm.

Trost is the perfect town for raising a family. A small, reliable community outside of the city bustle, a small and child friendly downtown, with crime statistics far below the average and an educational system far above.

The public secondary school was founded in 1909, and Trost High School has ever since been the crown jewel of the town. An impressive building in the center of town, just across the contemporary library, with a massive entrance carved out of marble, the school’s crest delicately carved into the timber above it and slate shingles weaving a scattered roof pattern. As one of the oldest, still in use schools in the county, it was already in the center of attention. But thanks to several generations of dedicated and hard working faculties, Trost High School was among the best scoring High Schools in the entire state.

So with a high community spirit, an impressive educational system and a safe environment for raising a family, Trost has been the home for many generations of certain families. And as you can imagine, we are quite tightly knit. And newcomers are quite the spectacle. In Trost, first impressions are key, and new arrivals will be on everybody’s lips the first few weeks, bringing either praise or condemnation.

And the Leonhardts were no exception.

Annie Leonhardt was a thunderstorm like no other. A lone wolf with the brightest of smiles and too much weight on her troubled heart. A New Yorker with no connection to or desire for a small town life, she was initially frowned down upon by the community of Trost. But behind her secluded expression she hid a pain too great for anyone to carry alone. And because of that, she raged her way through the town and changed it forever.

Annie Leonhardt changed me too. She pushed a frightened dreamer out of his sheltered nest and I have been soaring ever since. During a turbulent and fervent year, she opened my eyes to the ephemerality of life and this world we live in. And of the importance to make the best out of everything we can. She guided me through pain and darkness and light and love, and I will always be grateful for her part in my life.

Trost will never forget that year. Time is both evanescent and eternal, and the events of that year passed all too quickly and will stay forever.

I, yours truly, was a part of the 104th graduation class. 

And this is our story.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You guys have no idea of how nervous I am. I am in way over my head. But I'm still so excited and pumped for this, and I can't wait to really get started.
> 
> Yeah, this is just the kind of prologue that sets up the basis for the long road we have ahead of us, and I hope you will enjoy the ride!


	2. High school never ends

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The fateful day when summer ends and fall approaches and school starts.
> 
> Or;
> 
> In which Annie arrives at Trost High School, Armin is a bully victim, Connie, Ymir, Mina, Reiner, Mikasa and Jean is not ready for school to start, and Erwin has to look after a dynamic teaching staff.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _"The whole damn world is just as obsessed_   
>  _With who's the best dressed and who's having sex_   
>  _Who's got the money, who gets the honeys_   
>  _Who's kinda cute and who's just a mess_   
>  _And you still don't have the right look_   
>  _And you don't have the right friends_   
>  _Nothing changes but the faces, the names and the trends_   
>  _High school never ends"_   
>  **\- Bowling For Soup, "High School Never Ends"**

Back then it felt like High school would never end.

* * *

The Trost High School’s entrance steps were carved out of gorgeous marble, and had stood proud for 105 years.

That much Annie Leonhardt knew.

Annie had lived in Trost for several couple of weeks by then, her father having loaded the moving truck in the peak of summer, so they would have a chance to “get settled” before school started. Annie had spent the month or so locked up in her new room in the old, non air conditioned house, her shutters drawn, trying not to drown in her own sweat. Her father, knowing full well just how much she hated him for dragging her with him to the middle of nowhere, had fled their new home as soon as they had arrived, and she hadn't seen even as much as a glimpse of him. 

Not that she had back home in New York either. 

Trost was a quaint town. She couldn't ignore that. And she had settled fairly good, considering the circumstances. She didn't miss her old friends, not that they had been much of friends to begin with. Their house, nevertheless smelly and worn down, was considerable more spacious than their cramped Queens apartment, and more room meant more space for her to avoid her father on the rare occasions he actually was home from work. Annie had spent the remaining of her summer break catching up on her reading, and most importantly; training.

The only reason she had agreed to her father's seemingly impulse decision to move them both to Trost was that, even though a small town, they still had a small Judo club. Before she had allowed her father to really go full out crazy on this idea of his, she had contacted the small town club to inquire if an immediate transfer was possible. And it wasn't until that was settled she had allowed her father to really go maniacal.

But summer break was doomed to end sometime, and Annie was forced to face her new reality; that she was a pupil of Trost High School.

The walk up the marble step was eerily serene. Annie knew that it wouldn't even be near as overcrowded as it had been back home, and seeing how the principal had booked a meeting with her half an hour before classes started, the corridors were meant to be deserted. But even though people back home had known better than to cross her path, the start of the school year had always meant hustle and bustle and chaos, and she did not enjoy the lump of uneasiness that was growing in her stomach.

Annie Leonhardt, or The Ice Queen as her friends back home had dubbed her, was usually in control of her emotions. She had an iron grip on them, and only let them affect her or shine through if that was her intent. And the fraying of her nerves was definitely _not_ authorized. She had been completely fine this morning, when her father had, surprisingly, looked up from his phone long enough to wish her good luck. The walk downtown in the late summer morning had been surprisingly soothing, watching the sun seep through the slowly yellowing leaves with the air tepid and fresh and calming around her. So she was surprised at how tense she became as her footsteps echoed in the empty school corridors.

The building's interior was almost as impressing as its exterior. On one side of her, en endless line of full length lockers stretched out along the wall, but on the other, square wooden panels in various shades created a mesmerizing pattern from floor to ceiling. The floor was tiled in white, and the classroom doors were all in the same, soft shade of gray as the lockers. And Annie had to admit that it was a nice contrast to the run down and dirty corridors of back home. Also here she couldn't help but to think of the word _spacious_ , and it was a peculiar feeling not having to grab hold of her bag in fear of it being whisked away by the crowd. 

Annie was so caught up in her own confusion over her thawing nerves and admiration over the building that she almost walked past the entrance to the administration offices. She probably would have, had not ”Administration” been spelled out in big, metal letters above it. Her Converse sneakers squeaked as she abruptly halted in front of the entrance, an archway and a few steps leading down to a lower part of the building. The lump in her stomach contracted, and she swallowed determinedly before brushing an astray lock of hair out of her eyes. And then she descended the steps.

The short stairway led into a grand and bright office, with white painted walls and windows that took up the entire east wall, allowing the morning sun to pour in. White doors on the side of her led into smaller offices and the wall behind her were lined with waiting seats, and the whole room smelled of Goldenrod. And behind a white painted desk, a tall and blond individual with androgynous features was tapping away at a computer hidden from Annie's view. They had a sharp jawline and a pointed chin, but a soft face with calm and steady eyes. Their blond hair was cut into a short and convenient style and they wore a tailored suit jacket over a black shirt. They smiled as Annie walked up to the desk, and their blue eyes was both warm and welcoming.

”Hello.” Their voice was calm and warm and their smile never faltered as they inspected Annie.

”Hi.” They blinked rapidly a few times, and only after several seconds of awkward silence did their smile start to waver. Annie swallowed again and brushed her hair out of her face before continuing. ”I'm Annie Leonhardt.”

The vibrancy of their smile returned at that and they bounced slightly at the balls of their feet, as if finally being able to do something gave them an immense amount of joy.

“Ah, yes, principle Smith is just to the left, but I’m afraid…” They gestured with a slender hand to Annie's left, towards one of the white doors that was currently closed. A brass plate next to the door read ”Principal E. Smith”, and Annie walked towards it. ”Oh, no, wait!”

The androgynous individual reached out for Annie, but the desk hindered them, and Annie's fist collided with the wooden door.

* * *

“No, you don’t understand what I’m trying to say, Erwin…”

Mike Zakarius was currently leaning his tall and broad shouldered frame on Erwin Smith's ebony desk by pressing his large hands down on Erwin's carefully organized paperwork. Erwin himself was leaning back in his seat, pondering what Mike had just told him, having understood exactly what he was trying to say, just not ready to accept it. Mike had rolled up the sleeves of his button down shirt, his facial hair was not as trimmed as it usually was, and he was squinting against the sunlight seeping in through the windows behind Erwin.

Erwin and Mike had had this same conversation every day for almost a week by now, but Erwin was not caving in. He could see how it was tearing at his right-hand man, but he was not ready to give up hope yet. This school was in the end his responsibility, and he was going to fight tooth and nail to keep its pride. He leaned further back into his seat, readying himself for Mike's elaborate explanation of what he was trying to say, a speech Erwin had already heard too many times.

But at the last second, he was saved by the sound of someone knocking on his door.

Before either Erwin or Mike had time to react, the brass doorknob was turned and the door opened, and a short, blonde girl appeared at Erwin's left side. He could feel a small smile tug at the corner of his lips, and he looked up at his towering assistant principal.

”We'll talk about this later, Mike.”

Mike's eyebrows twitched quickly before he straightened. Sighing, he adjusted his shirt before running a hand through his hair, leaving his bangs in a mess on top of his head, and took a handful of the paperwork he had wrinkled. Turning around, the girl courtly stepped out of his way as he marched out of Erwin's office.

”So,” smiling as he rose from his seat, he extended his hand in order to greet her properly. ”You must be Annie Leonhardt.”

Annie's eyes wandered about the room as she walked to the middle of it, her icy eyes finally landing on him.

”Yes.”

“Allow me to officially welcome you to Trost High School.” Annie just continued to stare at him, her face expressionless, and Erwin could feel his dashing smile wavering as he retracted his dangling arm. ”Well, sit down.”

Annie promptly did so, and Erwin followed her example. The girl's posture was stiff and her eyes wouldn't stop wandering. But she didn't seem uncomfortable. She rather seemed... Curious, and that sparked a curiosity within Erwin too. He pulled out her file from his small mountain of paperwork, and rapidly sought out the page he was looking for.

”Yes, that's right.” Erwin unclipped the page to skim through it quickly before looking up at her again. ”Annie Leonhardt from New York. It must have been quite a change of setting, moving here?” He smiled in what he had always believed to be one of his most encouraging smiles, but once again, the young Miss Leonhardt didn't respond.

”Yes, quite.” Her tone was short and precise, and her facial expression didn't hint at the slightest at what she was thinking. But then again, Erwin was used to all of that. Clipping the paper back into place, he continued to browse through the file until he found something that caught his eye.

”Hmm, I recall you requesting Judo as your extracurricular...” Erwin trailed off, leaving an awkward silence between them, but if he was right in his judge of character, she just needed some prompting. And after staring her down a few seconds, he was proven right, as she gave in.

”Yes, it had been back home.” Annie shifted in her seat, turning herself to more fully face Erwin, her eyes finally properly settling on him, and he was glad he had earned her respect.

 _Back home._ So she didn't see Trost as her home just yet. _Oh, she just needs some time to adjust properly._

Because he had.

”Well,” placing her now closed filed back on his desk, he returned to business. ”Unfortunately, we haven’t had time to fully adapt to your request yet. But I promise that we are working very diligently on it, and we should be set up in no time. But I take it that you have already contacted the local club?

“Yes, sensei Singh has already accepted me as his student.”

“That’s great. That means that it’s just us who has a lot of paper work before us before we can make it official.” Erwin smiled at her encouragingly, and was actually taken by surprise when she smiled back softly. So after just a moment of hesitation, he leaned across his paper strewn desk, closer to her. ”Look, Annie.” He paused to figure out exactly what he was trying to say, and her icy eyes were intent on his. “I understand...” He trailed off again, desperate to not word this the wrong way. ”This must be hard for you. It’s never fun to just be thrown into a new environment and situation, and you should take all the time you need to settle. But I do hope that you will come to appreciate Trost High School. We may not be the fanciest or grandest school out there, but we might just be the greatest. We work restlessly for our students here, and I am sure you will see proof of that soon. I am sure you are dismissing me as just another arrogant fool right now, but what I’m saying is true. My staff and I are always here for you, whenever you need it. We are here to make the best out of your attendance here. Just give us a chance, and I promise we won’t disappoint you.”

”I will.” She smiled her weak but genuine smile again, and Erwin was relieved he had gotten through to her.

”Good.” He sat back in his seat and looked down at his watch, to realize that time had leaped away from them. ”Well, the first bell is about to go off soon, you better get moving.” Smiling, Erwin stood up, and Annie followed his example. “Do you need anything? We can appoint you a student guide, or we can have Nanaba show you around or…”

”I will be fine.” Annie cut him off while smiling weakly again, shrugging her bag higher up on her shoulder. Erwin couldn't help but smile to himself. She really did resemble another independent and stubborn individual he knew.

”Okay then. Then I will wish you a good day once you've stopped by Mike and Nanaba out here to get all of your information.” Erwin walked around his desk to offer to escort her out, and he was pleasantly surprised that she accepted it. As they stopped by his office door, she turned around to look up at him one last time.

”Thank you, principal Smith.”

”No problem. Oh, and Annie. Remember, we're all here for you.” He tried his dashing smile once again, and was this time rewarded by one of her small ones.

He watched from his place leaning against the door frame of his office as Mike helped Nanaba sort out everything Annie needed, a locker number and a schedule and a rough map of the school. As Annie left, Mike and Nanaba returned to their previous bickering, Nanaba picking in Mike's messed up hair and Mike poking about in Nanaba's hidden messes. Erwin smiled at his colleagues, engaged to be married in the next summer, as they tried to keep order out of the first day back at school chaos. He knew he was doomed to help them out sooner or later, but allowed himself to just submerge himself in the atmosphere while it still lasted.

He took a deep breath and smelled the scent of new beginnings.

And he was dragged out of his trance by the soft chiming of the bell. Nanaba and Mike looked up at him from behind the desk, smiling wittingly.

“There’s the first bell of the first day, principal Smith.”

”Yes.” Erwin sighed breathlessly with the kind of joy he only got to experience once a year. ”Isn't it glorious?”

* * *

The hallway was crowded.

Armin had a hard time trying to weave his small frame through the think crowd. But luckily, the first bell had already gone off, and people was slowly but steadily making their way out of the hallway and in to the classrooms. He just got sight of his locker, when...

”Armin!” He jumped at the sound of his own name, but relaxed when he saw Mikasa, standing by her locker, right next to his, just like she always did. He supposed he was jumpy that day. ”I was starting to get worried.” Mikasa's eyebrows furrowed in that familiar frown she always got whenever she suspected that either Eren or Armin had gotten into trouble. But luckily for Armin, he had Mikasa right next to him, in case someone wanted to cause him trouble in the hallways...

Not that he would need protecting from that.

"Yeah, sorry, grandpa needed some help and I... Got late." He could hear the awfulness in his own lie as he fiddled with the handle on his locker. He saw Mikasa's eyes fly over the bruise that was slowly forming on his neck, and he saw how she wasn't even near buying what he was telling her. But she decided to not press the subject, and he was once again grateful that he had her as one of his best friends. She gently bumped his locker with her hip instead, and it flew open immediately.

"Well, c'mon, the first bell has already rung." 

He was quick in discarding his excess stuff and quickly followed her into their homeroom classroom. Most of their classmates were already there, but since there was still time until the second bell, the classroom was loud and messy, and once again Armin had trouble making his way to his usual seat at the end of the room. Eren leaned over from his seat behind him to grab hold of Armin’s shoulders the moment he sat down, trying to start up a conversation just as the second bell rang.

The momentum of the room slowly ebbed out with the echo of the bell, but it was still in chaos as their teacher turned around. A short, black haired man that just barely reached the higher end of the blackboard and a seemingly permanent scowl on his angular face. He frowned as he noted the disorder in his classroom.

“Okay, okay, _shut up!_ ”

Armin jumped slightly in his seat, never quite getting used to Mr. Ackerman’s harsh tone. They had all learned long ago that there actually wasn't any _serious_ venom behind the short man’s bite, but his tone was so very unlike any other teachers that Armin always had a hard time adjusting to it.

The bustle around the crowded classroom quickly went extinct under Mr. Ackerman’s dark gaze. Eren finally gave up his futile attempt to keep up a conversation and let go of Armin’s shoulders. Reiner’s distinct voice gave out on the other side of the room and Connie skidded into his usual seat beside Armin. Mr. Ackerman’s intense gray eyes wandered in Armin’s direction, but landed on the down turned brunet head in front of him. Armin could only imagine what the stare must have felt like, because Jean was quick in his disposal of the phone he had previously typed on.

Mr. Ackerman let his gaze fly across the then orderly classroom one more time before raising his voice again.

“I know I’m supposed to wish you all welcome back, but I know that we will all be dying to depart again in the spring, so why bother.” His voice had now lost the harsh edge, and came out in his usual, calm drawl. He turned around to face the black chalkboard, his writing swift and soundless against it. His full name was scribbled in an acute but neat cursive. As he set down the small piece of chalk he had used to write with, he rubbed at his then white fingertips with a quick, loathing look before turning his attention to his class again. “I know most of you know the procedure by now, but since we have a new recruit to the class, Annie Leonhardt,” he gestured vaguely to the back of the classroom, “I figured I had no reason to not refreshen your memory.”

But Mr. Ackerman had lost the class’s attention completely. Every head, Armin’s included, turned to the vague point he had gestured to, only to indeed find the new blonde at the back of the room.

The girl’s, Annie’s, jaw was set into a keen line and her gaze was focused on Mr. Ackerman’s writing, refusing to meet anyone’s stare. Her shoulders were stiff underneath an oversized sweater, which must have been much too warm in the late august heat, and her pointed chin was sharp in the air. It was obvious she didn't like the attention she was currently receiving, and Armin averted his eyes quickly. 

Armin could only imagine what she must have felt like. Not avid on unwanted or unprepared attention himself, his heart momentarily went out to the fierce-eyed girl.

“Okay, that’s enough of that.” Mr. Ackerman called on the attention of the class, and it returned to him in a heartbeat. “As you all should have payed attention to by now, my name’s Levi Ackerman, and I am your homeroom teacher for this year. It also happens that you are all reading English with me this year, so you better get used to the idea of me.” He threw the handkerchief he had used to wipe his fingers with on his neatly arranged desk. When his eyes returned to the class in front of him, his grey eyes seemed to bore into every single student individually. “Yes, I am a Jew, and I will not tolerate any Neo-Nazi bullshit in this classroom.” He paused momentarily for impact, his english teacher roots shining through. But one thing was for sure, the combination of his intense gaze and dangerous tone erased any thoughts of antisemitism from his pupils. “Or any bullshit at all, for that matter.”

That coaxed a weak chuckle out of the class, and Mr. Ackerman continued with his unique welcome back speech, but Armin found both his hand and his mind drifting to the bruise that was now presenting itself on his neck.

Okay. He had lied.

He needed Mikasa’s protection from people wanting to cause him trouble in the hallway.

With his physical state being in the ill shape that is was, him earning the label of nerd and him being a gentle person by nature, he had always been an easy target for bullies. He had always taken the abuse, thinking that if picking on him made others lives better, then so let them be. And the verbal abuse had never been a problem, he had always seen the illogic in it and been able to brush it off, and with an otherwise loving surrounding the good always outweighed the bad. But the physical abuse was a whole other matter completely.

He knew he had both Eren and Mikasa in his corner, but he didn't feel right asking them to fight his fights for him. So instead he tried to hide it from the both of them, and trying to work out a solution on his own. But so far nothing had worked.

He was pulled out of reverie by Thomas passing by to hand him a document he needed his guardian to sign. Which in Armin’s case was his grandfather. His parents had left earlier that summer for a research trip to Africa and wasn't expected to return until late spring. The departure of his parents had also left him vulnerable, seeing how he had lost his two closest confidants and how incredibly much he missed them.

But Armin was doing okay. He still had his grandfather. And his friends, which was a scattered bunch of individuals, most of them sharing classroom with him right at that moment. He was grateful for his friends. Being lively and spiritful souls the most of them, they always respected his need for space and his more introverted side and never doubted how much he appreciated them.

And as the realization that Armin was surrounded by his friends again hit, groaning over their new schedules and confusingly questioning Mr. Ackerman over the forms they had been handed, he wondered if maybe the good was still outweighing the bad.

* * *

Connie Springer was not happy that school had started again.

He had never really had a problem with school, he enjoyed spending time with his friends, and he even outright enjoyed some of the subjects. It was just that he had had one of the best summers of his life, and he was sad to see it come to an end.

It was unbelievable how great the weather had been, he had finally managed to get his drivers licence, his parents had taken him to an awesome trip to D.C., Martin had finally learned how to ride the local pool's water slide without someone accompanying him and he really believed that Sunny had finally learned that not everything revolved around her.

Oh, and he and Sasha had just had a really great time together.

He was currently sitting in his psychology class, his first real lesson of the year, and he already missed her. Sure, Armin and Eren was also in his class, but it just wasn't the same. Armin had always been such a... _Delightful_ student, and you never knew if Eren was up for mischief or not.

Sasha was always up for mischief.

So Connie tried to amuse himself with an old sharpie he had found at the back of his locker. It didn't work great, seeing how his dark skin didn't really bring out the best in the black marker. But before he got bored out of his mind, the lesson finally started up for real.

”What is psychology?” Petra Ral, their colorful and loving psychology teacher, sat atop her desk, looking out at the class. Standing just about at the same height as Connie himself, it didn't make much difference whether she stood up or sat down, and he supposed it was more comfortable to sit down. She smiled her vibrant smile, and for some reason, Connie didn't see that as a good sing. ”That is the first question I want you to answer me. Team up in pairs of two, and I expect an answer from all pairs in fifteen minutes.”

The entire class groaned simultaneously.

And whether Connie liked it or not, the school year had finally started.

* * *

”Welcome back to hell!”

Ymir was leaning back against the gym wall and had to focus all of her energy not to kill someone. The summer break had ended way too abruptly and Christa had woken her up way too early this morning and now she was expected to actually be _amiable?_

Yeah, not happening.

So setting her jaw in a hard line and curling her hands into fists behind her back, she inspected Günter, their way too energetic P.E. teacher. He had a wicked glint in his dark eyes, as he had at the start of every school year. He was sporting his usual, corny football shorts in Trost's characteristic orange, along with his worn windbreaker, with the Trost crest printed proudly on his chest. His whistle hung by his neck and he really did look ready to put them all through hell.

But luckily for Ymir, the first day of school didn't require and actual P.E. lesson, this was all about information.

”Just don't...” Günter's wicked glint retracted a bit and he slumped back on his heels as he seemed to realize what he had just said. ”Tell anyone I said that. Okay?”

The class agreed absentmindedly, and Günter clapped his hands together in excitement as he started his long account of what was in store for them all this coming school year, and Ymir had to suppress the need to yawn. Shutting out Günter's annoying voice, her eyes wandered over to Jean and Marco, who were standing on the opposite side of the gym, whispering and giggling together like two kindergarten kids in love.

Why didn't they just grow a pair and ask each other out already.

When a yawn finally managed to escape her, Ymir slumped further down the wall, digging her chin into her chest and tried her best to keep her eyes open. It wasn't that successful. Not only was school starting again, which was a pain just in itself, but she was almost constantly separated from Christa this year, and she got P.E. on Monday's, just before lunch.

Oh man, was this year going to suck.

* * *

Mina took a deep breath as she turned around to face the school cafeteria.

She had just gotten out of Alg II with Auruo and she was feeling a little off balance. To be honest there was a lot of things keeping her off balance those days.

But it was easier just blaming it all on Auruo.

She stepped aside for a bulky guy walking out among the cluster of tables to find a place to sit down. And releasing the breath she just then realized she had been holding, she figured she would have to do the same. Scanning the heads making out the crowd of eating students, she found a lot of familiar faces. There was her fellow 104th graduates, scattered among a variety of tables, some of the girls from choir, the soccer boys, taking up too much place and making too much noise, and there was the cheer squad, everyone donning identical uniforms to the one she herself was wearing. A simple, but cute design in black and orange with TITANS written across their chest in bold letters. Mina was actually not a fan of wearing the uniform during school hours, but she had been told that it was important to raise the school spirit now at the beginning of the year.

She was just about to walk over and join her squad when she caught sight of the fiery red mane that made her heart contract in her chest, and she immediately thought better of it. The motion and the sound of the crowd was quickly overwhelming her, and with a racing heart, she scanned the crowding room again, desperate for a kind soul to ease her mind. And her eyes caught on the messy bun of pale blonde hair that she had seen for the first time just that morning, sitting all by herself. Mina's heart immediately lightened, and without thinking too much, she walked over.

”Hi!”

Annie, because it was Annie, right, looked up at her, her cool eyes scanning her quickly before furrowing her eyebrows in confusion. Mina just took another deep breath before continuing.

”I'm Mina. Can I sit here?” Once again she had to sidestep someone walking past her, almost spilling all of her lunch on the floor in the process. She smiled pleadingly at the other girl, who first shook her head softly before pulling her tray closer to herself.

”Sure.” Her voice was both confused and uncertain as Mina collapsed in the chair opposite her, sighing out of relief. Sitting down at the tiny table next to the lone girl was like slipping into another world, and the sound of their surrounding was quickly slipping away from Mina. The two girls silently inspected each other for a moment as Mina uncapped her bottle of water. She took a deep swig before deciding that that was enough awkwardness for her.

”You're Annie, right?”

”Yeah.” Mina noted how Annie hadn't touched her food since she had sat down, and how her cool eyes were intent on her, seemingly taking everything in, everything from her purposely messy pigtails to her short skirt. She could feel the invisible barrier surrounding the other girl separating them, and realized that her impulse decision might not have been as good as she had initially thought.

”Look, I just didn't want you to sit by yourself.” Mina knew that it wasn't entirely true, but at least it was partly true. She _had_ chosen this particular table because lonely souls made her heart ache. And she had dealt with too much heartache lately. ”I'm sorry if I disturbed your personal space or if I interrupted something, so if you want me to leave...” She trailed off, watching Annie intently as she carefully started to poke around on her plate with her fork.

”You could have chosen any other table.” This was the first time she addressed Mina without looking her dead in the eye, and the statement threw her off guard. She gently placed her water bottle back on the tray as she watched the girl with the sharp features and pale air surrounding her. And just as she was about to give up, she felt the barrier between them shifting.

And she couldn't help but smile.

”Are you implying that I'm popular?”

”Well, aren't you?” Annie's cool eyes seemed to glow as she looked back at Mina, a glow that at that moment felt as precious as unicorn tears to Mina.

”No, I suppose I am. But what has that got to do with anything?”

”Then why would you choose to sit by me, when I'm so obviously apathetic?”

”Let me be the judge of that.” Mina bit into one of her carrot sticks vigorously, and she could have sworn she saw the corners of Annie's mouth twitching. ”So you're saying that I would take advantage of my popularity?”

”Well, isn't that why you become popular in the first place?”

Annie looked at her, really looked at her, paying Mina her full attention, and only then did Mina's smile start to faltered. Annie's eyes narrowed but it didn't take Mina long to reinforce her smile. But it did take her a moment to figure out just what she wanted to say.

”I always rather believed that you became popular to set a good example. And that being popular came with the privilege of actively choosing who and who not you wanted to hang out with.” Mina paused to search for an reaction from Annie, but the only one she got was that she stared more intently at her. ”But, you know, that's just me.”

Mina shrugged before diving into her pile of carrot sticks again. But out of the corner of her eye, she could see Annie smile softly before picking up a piece of her bread.

And it took all the self control Mina possesed to not giddily scream out of joy over having cracked Annie's code.

They kept a much more casual conversation after that. Mina learned that they had a similar taste in literature, but that Annie's taste in music completely sucked. Non of them brought up cheerleading, but Mina learned that Annie was an avid Judo fan. Mina could feel Annie's barricade retracting piece by piece, and it made her happier than she could ever hope to explain.

So it disappointed Mina when lunch break was almost over and she heard her own name over the thinning crowd.

”Mina!” She looked up in surprise, and saw Hitch standing at the exit of the cafeteria, thankfully only with Lydia and Juliet. ”C'mon, we got history!”

”Yeah, I'm coming!” Mina turned back to Annie, who's soft smile, that Mina had grown extremely fond of in just that short amount of time, had faltered slowly. ”I don't suppose you got history?”

”Uh-uh. Pre-calc.” Mina could see how she was slowly folding in on herself again, and could feel the barrier creeping up around her. And Mina was not having any of it.

”Oh, you got Auruo then, don't you?” Placing her elbows on the table and leaning closer to Annie, she tried to show how reluctant she was to leave and how she would not say goodbye with Annie shielding herself off from her.

”Yeah, I think so.” Annie's eyebrows furrowed in confusion again, and Mina all but grabbed hold of her to shake away her obliviousness.

”Well, good luck. You're gonna need it.”

”I like math.” Her eyebrows were still furrowed in confusion, but her lips cracked into a smile, and the sight warmed Mina's aching heart.

”Hopefully you still will after a whole year with him as the teacher.”

”That bad?”

”You'll see.” Mina finally rose from her seat, but met Annie's eyes as she picked up her then empty tray. ”I'll see you around, Annie.”

”Yeah.” And after a short pause and a soft smile; ”You too, Mina.”

”See! You're not apathetic. What you _are_ is grumpy.” Mina laughed quickly, and she could have sworn Annie's cheeks gained a little color before she waved clumsily from around her hold on her tray and turned around to catch up with Hitch and the others.

* * *

Reiner Braun loved history.

But he found himself despising that history class.

Erdmann Jinn, or more commonly known as simply Erd, was the hot teacher of Trost High School. With long, dirty blonde hair tied back in a messy bun, warm brown eyes, a fine boned face and a a constant beard scruff, Reiner had to admit he was handsome.

But having Erdmann Jinn as a teacher of his U.S history class, where the majority of his classmates consisted of young, teenage girls, was slowly grating on his nerves.

They were half an hour into the lesson, and Erd had just barely managed to get through the classlist callout, and Reiner was _that_ close to... Do something irrational. But sitting in between Marlowe Freudenberger and Christa, the Trost Titans Titan mascot and the largest lesbian to ever lesbian, who both seemed to find the whole debacle just as maddening as he did, helped a little bit.

He missed Bert. That nerd was in pre-calc then, probably having the time of his life, bonding with Auruo over math and shit. And Reiner was stuck in history, not learning history, which he loved, but had to deal with hormonal teenage girls, and he was _not_ up for that that early in the school year.

”Oh, oh, Mr. Jinn!” One of the cheerleaders on the other side of the classroom suddenly shot her hand up into the air as if her whole life depended on it. Erd, _once again_ , set down the chalk stick he had used to try and write the headline of their first theme of the course, and turned to the girl with a gentle smile.

”Yes Juliet?”

”Mr. Jinn, or, I mean, _Erd_... I just wanted to word how _grateful_ I am to get the chance to read this course under your supervision and...”

Marlowe sighed to his left and Christa groaned on his right, and Reiner was so ready to punch something.

But he had to admit that he really was hot.

* * *

”What part of retirin' doesn't he get?”

Mikasa glanced over at Sasha, who was silently mouthing profanity at the pre-course test they had been handed as they walked into the classroom. Keith Shadis, the teacher of their second biology course, was also the previous principal of Trost High School, a post he had retired from a few years ago to let his vice principal Erwin Smith take over the helm. He was an old and bald man, who still had an incredible amount of authority and always managed to make at least one freshman cry during the first week of school.

But Mikasa had no problem with him. He got his job done, and she enjoyed biology. Sasha was a whole other matter though. The two had never quite gotten along, and they loved playing at each others nerves.

So Mikasa found it best to just ignore her, and tried to focus on her own test. But the afternoon sun was leaking in through their classroom windows, and the silver necklace at her throat blinded her as it swung back and forth above the test paper. Grabbing hold of the familiar angel wings, she moved to put them inside of her shirt for the time being, but stopped mid-motion.

The silver wings reflected the late summer afternoon sun quite beautifully. The angel wings Eren had given her so long ago. The angel wings he in turn had been given by his father, telling him they were the wings of Ridwan and that they would carry them both out of Trost someday, carry them both out over the entire world for them to discover paradise on earth. But as fate would have it, he had ridden out of Trost on another pair of wings and left Eren behind.

Shoving the necklace into her shirt, Mikasa mentally chided herself. That was _not_ the time to be thinking about Eren. She had a biology course to excel at, a whole school year she needed to excel at, and a boxing tournament to prepare for, and by the way, he had his dream college to get into and his soccer to be focusing on...

And Mikasa Ackerman was slowly but surely loosing her grip on reality.

* * *

”Urgh, look at the lovebirds.”

Connie, the dumbass that he was, had pushed his dark shades up on top of his clean shaved head and was squinting his bright hazel eyes against the blaring sun as he nodded to the direction of the entrance steps. Jean turned in his seat on the wooden bench to see what he was talking about, and found Franz and Hannah, two of their fellow 104th graduates, standing next to each other, giggling and whispering to each other, as if they had escaped into their own little world as the entire school was pouring out all around them.

”Doesn't it just make ya wanna rip yer tongue out?” Sasha leaned her chin into her palms, with her elbows placed on the old, round and incredibly small wooden board table they had all squeezed around. The afternoon was warm, but not as hot as it had been just a couple of weeks ago, and the yellowing leaves above Jean protected him from the still fierce sun rays. It had been a beautiful day, and they had all been cramped up inside, forced to start up another school year.

But the faint scent of blooming Goldenrods, the cooler air and the quicker setting sun witnessed that autumn was approaching, and that a new time had come.

”Oh, give them a break guys. They're just newly in love.” Jean turned around to face his friends again, only to be met by the deadpan expressions of both Sasha, Connie, Eren and Armin.

”They've been datin' for five years.”

”Oh, shut up.”

”Well, look at the clock.” Armin, looking down at his non-existent clock, stood up from his place squeezed in between Eren and Sasha. ”I gotta go. First meeting with the Debate team.” And just like that, he turned his back on them all and left.

But apparently, Eren was having none of it.

“Yo, Armin!” Having enough place to swing his legs back over the wooden bench then when Armin had left, Eren did so, and Armin turned around again to face his friend. ”Will you be okay?”

”Yeah, sure.” Armin smiled broadly, but it was just about as fake as Auruo's hair. ”Why wouldn't I?” And just like that, he was entirely gone from their view.

Eren sighed before he slowly turned around back to the rest of them, and Jean couldn't help to wonder what on earth that had been about. But before he could think about it too much, Sasha filled in the gap for him.

”Did he get beat up again?” Sasha had a broken look in her eyes and Eren sighed again before pulling a hand through his already messy hair.

”Yeah, either that, or he tripped in the bathtub.”

Something heavy settled in between them at that, and Jean felt a little bashful over not having noticed. But then again, Armin tried his very best to hide his situation from them all, and they had not spent that much time together that day. Both Eren and Sasha seemed lost in thought, and out of the corner of his eyes, Jean noticed how Connie found his old sharpie and started to absentmindedly doodle on Sasha's pale arm. Jean himself tried to flatten out some of the wrinkles in his T-shirt, an ancient BFS shirt that had been the first thing he had gotten hold of as he had raced out of bed earlier that morning, late already on the first day of school, and tried to figure out just what they were going to do then.

But then Eren's eyes shone up and he stumbled out of his seat before limping his way over to the sidewalk behind Jean.

”Hey! Hey, Mikasa!”

Jean turned around to watch was what going on, and found Mikasa dressed in only a sport bra and running tights, a duffel bag flung upon her shoulder with her usually ivory cheeks flushed. Mikasa Ackerman was the current state champion in junior middleweight boxing, and had been in all previous weight divisions ever since she had started fighting for the titles. And she was obviously in a hurry.

”Eren,” she sighed in exasperation while brushing aside some of her short hair from her face. ”I'm already late for practice.”

”Whatever.” Eren shook his head in confusion before continuing. ”Mom just wanted you to know that we’re having türlü today and that she needs us to go and pick up vegetables.”

”Fine, and we will. _After_ practice.” And after a quick squeeze at Eren's shoulder, she was gone.

”Yeah, _nice seeing you too!_ ”

Kicking at a stray rubble, Eren stayed on the sidewalk, looking after her. His golden skin had tanned darker by the summer, which made his ocean green eyes stand out even more. And with the sun playing around in his messy hair, he was quite the sight.

Something Jean solely noticed because he was an artist. Solely because of that and nothing else.

Jean noticed himself tensing, and quickly looked over at Sasha and Connie, too engrossed in their own little messed up world to pay him any attention. Taking a deep breath to ease himself, he swallowed sharply before calling out;

”Trouble in paradise, Jaeger?” Too his relief his voice was just the right tone of mocking, and Eren turned around to face him, the sun reflecting in his clear eyes.

”Yeah, you're really one to talk, Kirschstein,” Eren shot back before sauntering over to them again.

”Oh, shut up...”

”But, speaking of trouble,” Eren said before sitting back down. ”Are you having any for Friday?”

Jean needed a moment to realize just what he was talking about.

”What, my party? Just what do you think of me, Jaeger? Of course I have everything under control.”

”You mean, _I_ have everything under control.” Jean looked up in surprise at the familiar freckled face that had suddenly appeared above his shoulder.

”Oh, shut up, Marco.” But Marco just laughed his carefree laugh before making himself a seat in between Jean and Eren. His skinny jeans clad thigh pressed against Jean's own, Marco's white ones a contrast to Jean's black, and Jean scooted closer to Connie, just to make more room for them all.

But Marco didn't seem to notice his move, seeing how he just smiled brightly at Jean.

”Well, seeing how I _have_ everything under control, what about the new kid? Annie?”

Jean cleared his throat in order to buy himself a few more seconds to recollect himself, and tried to concentrate his thoughts. _Annie. New kid. Party. Friday._

”Of course she's welcome, I suppose. It's not like I have an invitation list. I'll get the word to her, don't worry.”

Marco smiled the same lopsided grin that he had ever since they were all small kids, and Jean's immediate response was to smile back. But the smile immediately faltered as Eren's voice filled his eardrums again.

”I still don't get how you're able to pull it off every year. That much people, and not a single incident. How do you do it, man?”

Still thrown slightly off balance, Jean answered with the first thing that came to his mind.

”Yeah, well, Christa do have a strange ability to keep Ymir on a leash.”

”Why did my name and leash come out of your mouth in the same sentence?” Jean just had time to wheeze weakly before Ymir's arm had his shoulders in a death grip. Her breath was hot and sickly sweet against his cheek as she leaned down to his level, and he instinctively leaned away from her as she leaned in closer. ”Were you insinuating that I'm a troublemaker?”

Having gotten over her initial ambush, Jean could feel the old contempt between them growing inside of him again, and he stared dead into her cinnamon colored eyes, letting his voice drop into its familiar, sardonic tone.

”Well, you did kinda...” But before he could remind everyone of the _situation_ just a few weeks ago, Marco interrupted him.

”Whoa, guys. Let's calm down.” Putting a hand on both of their shoulders, he slowly separated them.

”Oh, little Marco.” Ymir turned around to face him instead, and in the process she whacked Jean with her ponytail. ”Always playing the peacemaker.” But Marco just squinted at her, and Ymir sighed in chagrin before releasing Jean and standing up at her full height. ”Oh, don't you know how to loosen up?”

And simultaneously as the tension between them swiftly changed, Christa, small as she was, took the opportunity to squeeze herself in between Jean and Connie, pressing Jean closer to Marco.

”Oh, I know how to loosen up”, was all he said as he grinned wryly at Jean, and Jean could feel his cheeks starting to heat.

”Well, how come we don't see any pretty boys around here then,” Ymir wondered as she sat down on the grass behind them, her long, tan legs reaching up to settle her heels just behind Christa. But Jean turned around to his other side, to focus on anything other than Marco's smile, and just had time to see Connie looking up, a sharpie cap sticking out of his dark lips, his eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

”Hey, I'm pretty!”

But no one paid attention to his mumbled protest, and Jean was too confused to focus on anything. Jean Kirschstein came from a good Christian home, he did not need to think about Marco's...

You know what? Better to let it go all together.

So before Marco had the chance to answer, Jean decided to steer the conversation back into safer tracks.

”Okay, digging ourselves out of the ditch that is Marco’s love life, back to more hot topics. What did you all think of the new girl?”

”Nah.”

”My love life's _not_ a ditch.”

“A little creepy.”

”Oh, don't be like that.”

As Christa turned around to scold Ymir, Jean got a clear view of Connie, who he had still not let his eyes waver from, and seeing how he and Sasha was the only ones not answering his question, it seemed like the right thing to do. But Connie was so engrossed in his doodling, writing his own name in large and elaborate letters on the inside of Sasha's pale forearm, that he no longer seemed to notice the world around him. And Sasha, noticing the same thing as Jean, seemingly decided to answer for them both.

”She sure gave Mr. A's death stare a run for its money.”

”I wouldn't be so quick to judge her guys.” Jean once again turned around to watch the familiar voice approaching from behind them. Reiner and Bertholdt, apparently deciding that they didn't fit around the small table, settled on standing next to them in the shade of the oak tree above them. Bert, almost always surrounded by an air of unease, just stood by awkwardly, his hands clasped in front of him. Reiner on the other hand, the epitome of self confidence, leaned leisurely against the tree trunk, crossing his muscular arms before continuing. ”She's from New York, you know.”

The looks on everyone else's faces told Jean that neither they had thought of that. Reiner and Bert were also originally from NYC, but had both moved to Trost while they were all still in kindergarten, and they had since then grown into two just as indigenous citizens of Trost as the rest of them. But they were after all native to New York, and Jean supposed you never quite lost the connection to your place of birth.

”Well, has anyone even talked to her?” Sasha asked as she looked up at her confused friends with a just as confused expression. ”I saw Mina sittin' with her durin' lunch, but I haven't even _seen_ her since.”

They all fell into silence after that. Jean found it peculiar, from time to time, how such a motley group of friends as them could be contempt in just sharing each other's silences. But he supposed that was what true friends were like.

And then the final bell rang, and Jean noted how they were the only ones left on the premises, with the sun setting lower in the sky, and the first day of the school year had already ended. And Jean was just about to announce his departure, when Christa suddenly spoke up

”Speaking of Mina,” she inquired with an uncertain expression. ”How do you think she's getting along? Now that she and Paige broke up.”

”If I know Mina properly, she's doing just fine,” Eren declared confidently. ”She's not one to let some stupid girl get her down. And she's still part of the cheerleading squad, right?”

”I suppose...” Christa smiled weakly, but she seemed far from convinced.

”It's a shame though,” Jean offered offhandedly. ”They were cute together.”

”It's not whether they were cute together or not, Jean.” Christa whirled on him, her petite face set in a determined expression, and Jean felt his back bump into Marco's shoulder as he flinched away from her. ”Mina deserves better than a cheater.”

”I know that!” Jean exclaimed helplessly. ”I didn't mean...” But before he had the chance to defend himself, Sasha cut him off.

”Connie, what're ya _doin'?_ ” Sasha looked down at her own arm, and everyone's gazes followed hers. Her forearm was then not only adorned with Connie's intricate name, but dozens of small doodles, swirling patterns and flowing shapes. ”Ya do realize that I'm gonna have to pay back for this?”

”Uh-huh,” was his only distracted response, his tongue sticking out from the corner of his lips, sharpie cap lying discarded underneath him, as he seemed to complete the finishing touches of his handiwork. ”Done!” He sat up straight again as he finally retracted the sharpie from Sasha's then ink filled skin, proudly looking down at his achievement. But Sasha just shook her head before snatching the pen from his hand.

”Uh-huh, _my turn._ ”

And while Sasha grabbed hold of Connie's arm, writing her own name unceremoniously in big, and pretty ugly, block letters against his considerably darker skin, Eren caught Jean's eyes, and they both smiled deviously.

” _Ooooh, look at the lovebirds, doesn't it just make you want to rip your tongue out?_ ”

Freezing in mid-struggle, both Sasha and Connie slowly turned their attention to Jean and Eren, who were both failing miserably at trying not to chortle.

” _What?_ ”

* * *

Erwin was sitting on top of the administration desk, casually eating an apple.

Mike was out somewhere in the school running some errands, and Nanaba was calmly tapping away on the computer behind him. Their office was cool and softly illuminated by the setting afternoon sun outside. It had been an eventful first day, and this was the first time Erwin had had the chance to fully relax.

And then the bell rang.

”There's the last bell of the first day, principal Smith.”

”And another year has just begun.” Erwin smiled down at Nanaba, who's eyebrows just rose in response to his apparent glee.

Erwin took a deep breath after tossing the core of the apple in the trash bin on the other side of the room, leaning back on the palms of his hands and just soaking it all in. A new year didn't just mean new beginnings, it meant new opportunities, new goals and new dreams, and Erwin couldn't think of anything better.

That was, until Levi appeared at the office entrance.

Erwin raised his eyebrows in question, and Levi just cocked one of his in answer, before lazily leaning back against the wall across from Erwin. And just like that, a flurry of motion filled the office with his coworkers.

”Erwin, something must be done about the situation in the gymnasium...”

”Where are my new text books? I refuse to start off with the old ones...”

”The freshmen are just a bunch of brats, I don't see how...”

”Nanaba, my computer won't stop acting up...”

Erwin just smiled at the chaos, just as he did every year, and hopped down from the desk to try and work out whatever he could. The teachers tugged and teared at him, desperately seeking his attention, and as soon as Mike came slinking into the room, they attacked him too. Erwin had just reassured an agitated Petra Ral that her textbooks were on their way and was supposed to show up before the end of the week, when Zoë suddenly came dashing in, her hair standing out at odd angles and her eyes huge behind her glasses.

”I got a case of head lice already on the fist day!” She proclaimed excitedly, turning around to face everyone in the room. ”Oh, this year is sure going to be something!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My version of Eren is part Turkish and also part Muslim, so, yes, Ridwan is an Islamic angel, and I’m sorry if I completely disgraced him. My knowledge of Islam is quite limited, but I have done my research, and Ridwan was the only angel who fitted the situation I wanted to put him in, and also the kind of story that a father could tell his young son. But if I by any chance offended the image of Ridwan, please tell me, and I will find another way to work around it.
> 
> And I know that this chapter is choppy and boring, but I'm still in the process of introducing the cast and their most important features. Just give me some time, and I promise this will turn much more exiting. Already next chapter is going to be so much more eventful.
> 
> But despite all of that, I hope you still enjoyed this chapter!


	3. Party at a rich dude's house

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They say the first event of the year sets the base for the rest.
> 
> Or;
> 
> In which Connie and Sasha are partying hard, Eren and Christa gets themselves into trouble, which Mikasa and Ymir has to deal with, Armin is finally introduced to Annie, and Marco tries to keep Jean a gracious host.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _"Whoa oh, there's a party at a rich dude's house_   
>  _Whoa oh, there's a party at a rich dude's house_   
>  _If you wanna go, then you know oh_   
>  _We're gonna fight 'til we do it right_   
>  _So let's whoa oh, tonight"_   
>  **\- Ke$ha, "Party at a Rich Dude's House"**

There's no party like the "Fuck we're back at school" party.

* * *

Jean Kirschtein was a half-decent guy with a catholic upbringing, a rebellious streak and was spoiled rotten. And he had been the host of the 104's back-to-school party for as long as anyone could remember. But ever since freshman year, when his mom had to leave town and left Jean in charge of the partying and Daz had stumbled into the Kirschtein liquor cabinet, the party had only grown. And by their junior year, the whole school thought of themselves as invited.

The Kirschtein manor was really not that spectacular. Jean lived on the same block as Thomas, in a regular middle class area, and their houses were in many ways similar to each other. But having a father who had left an ancient fortune behind when Jean was just a baby, meant that Mrs. Kirschtein had had the opportunity to become extravagant. It also meant that she had bought everything that money could buy to not let her son feel unloved.

Even if that meant ignoring him completely in order to keep up their appearance as rich. 

So even though the Kirschtein house in itself wasn't that valuable, their interior was. Expensive carpets imported directly from Persia, delicate crystal glasses from Venice and ancient Chinese ceramics. And every year, the struggle to not have his home vandalized was becoming harder and harder. 

"Dude. _Don't_ piss in the champagne glasses." Jean grabbed hold of the shoulder of the idiot that was currently pissing in one of his mom’s favorite champagne glasses. As he turned around to face him, Jean noticed how it was one of the seniors in his chemistry class. His eyes were red rimmed and his mouth was slacking open, and he had obviously been absent from the lesson where they learned about how too much ethanol affected the urinary system. 

"Yo, take it easy bro. I was just..." 

"I don't want to hear it. Just go." Having lost his patience long ago, Jean just showed him towards the front door. But the guy jerked out of Jean’s grasp before stumbling into a group of girls, who quickly evaded him with sharp looks of disgust.

"Whatever, man. Jesus, you need to chill the hell out." 

"You do not disgrace His name inside these four walls!" The idiot thankfully escaped out into the night after that, but then the group of girls turned at Jean, eyeing him warily, and he turned his back to them to escape their stares. He didn't know what had gotten into him. That was a phrase his mom had often called after him, and he blamed the alcohol working it’s way through his veins. 

Jean understood that people needed winding down after their first week of school. He knew that he needed it. But ever since Sasha had kick started the small party consisting of _only_ his close friends with an old Black Eyes Peas record just two hours earlier, Jean had slowly lost control of the situation. People were constantly spilling in from every entrance and havoc was slowly breaking out. The living room was thankfully still a fairly civilized zone, seeing how Sasha and Connie had an iron grip on the stereo and was currently forcing people to dance to whatever crappy music they decided on. But the hallways of Jean’s home were filled with strangers and he didn't even want to think about what was going on behind the closed doors. 

Taking a deep breath, trying to keep his panic under control, he picked up the champagne glass filled with yellow liquid. 

"Hey, Jean!"

" _What?_ " Turning around viciously, the yellow liquid spilled over the glass, and he cursed loudly before looking up at the voice that had called his name. Marco’s caramel colored eyes were wide in surprise as he raised his hands above his head, a small smile playing on his lips. 

"Don't shoot the messenger." Jean tried to shake his hand dry as Marco walked up to him, eyeing the glass curiously, but apparently deciding that questions could wait as he looked at him apologetically. "I hate to break it to you, but someone just threw up in your gerberas." 

"Oh, no, that's just _great_." Walking past Marco towards the back yard exit, he was surprised to feel Marco’s hand on his shoulder, holding him back. 

"Hey," he mumbled softly. His hold on Jean was gentle and his warm eyes were full of care. Of concern. For Jean’s well being. "Take it easy." 

But Jean just shrugged him off and refused to meet his gaze. 

"Just... Make sure no one else pisses in mom's glass cabinets and I'll deal with the flower puker." Handing Marco the champagne glass, ignoring his momentarily perplexed expression, he turned around to deal with yet another confrontation. But he could feel Marco’s worried gaze on his back as he left.

* * *

The place was already crowded when Annie got there. 

The front lawn was full of people smoking and drinking, and the hallway was even more so, with people laying passed out in the staircase and some poor individual throwing up in a delicately painted ceramics vase. Annie weaved her way through the crowd, absentmindedly taking in all the details of the carefully decorated house. She had not planned on staying long, she was just curious to see what the entire thing was all about, as Kirschtein had put such effort into inviting her there. It had almost been comical, the way he had stopped her on their way out of English class earlier that day, and tried very hard to casually tell her about his annual “back to school” party. 

She was just about to leave again after a beefy guy had unceremoniously bumped into her before releasing a battle cry that would ring in Annie’s ears for the entire weekend, but then she heard a familiar voice over the crowd. 

“Annie!” Mina, dressed in a short black dress, her raven hair tied back in an intricate updo, her friendly face flawless, was so pretty. And although Annie was far from uncomfortable in her favorite, gray washed sweater and her hair in her usual messy bun, she simply felt... Pale, in comparison. With a cider bottle in hand, Mina wobbled towards her on sky high heels, a questionable stain on the hem of her dress. But she still shone as brightly as the sun as she finally reached her, and Annie could tell that she was about to reach out for a hug, before thinking better of it. They had eaten lunch together on both Wednesday and Thursday, and Mina had taken up sitting next to her during their English lessons. But even tipsy, she seemed to realize that their short acquaintance had not yet reached that level. But her smile didn't waver as she stopped in front of her. “You came!” 

Mina had to shout over the loud music, and Annie quickly scanned her surroundings. Apparently she had ended up in the Kirschtein living room, seeing how two different sets of couches had been pushed against a wall, a television was currently being used for the Wii dance game in a corner of the room, enormous speakers were placed on either side of the advanced stereo system, and colorful lights were sweeping over the crowd dancing at the center of the room. 

“Yeah…” Annie could feel the pressure of all the impressions as her gaze returned to Mina. 

“I’m glad you did.” Mina leaned in closer to her instead of shouting over the music, her eyes soft and kind, and it made Annie feel a little better. But then she swayed on her high heels, and Annie could tell she was on her very good way of becoming drunk. And, indeed, she swallowed quickly before pointing at the water bottle in Annie’s hand. “That’s…” 

“Alcohol,” Annie filled in for her. 

“Thank god,” she laughed quickly, before catching herself. "Not that it's anything wrong with staying sober! It's just a little lame to bring water." Laughing louder as she leaned closer to her, Annie slowly backed closer to the wall, and Mina immediately retreated, respecting her space, before smiling apologetically. "Well, I'm going to catch up with some friends. Wanna join?"

She pointed with her half empty cider bottle over her shoulder, towards a group of mostly unfamiliar girls, even though Annie did identify Hitch, a girl with pale brown hair and a catty countenance that was in her french class. 

“No, I’m good.” Annie smiled carefully at her, and Mina immediately smiled back. 

“Well, I’ll see you around.” Mina always said it like a promise, as if her life wouldn't be complete without Annie’s presence. She quickly grabbed hold of Annie’s free hand to give it a quick squeeze, before smiling warmly and disappearing into the crowd again. Annie could feel her cheeks starting to heat up, and uncapped the water bottle before taking a deep swig of the clear liquid, feeling it burn down her throat. She gasped quietly before leaning back against the wall, waiting for the alcohol to kick in. She could feel the soft buzz in her veins, and was just about to make her way out again, feeling like she had socialized more than she had bargained for that evening, when her eyes fell on another blonde head, standing pressed up against the wall, watching the crowd with conflicted eyes. And she blamed the booze for what she did then.

* * *

Bertholdt and Reiner had, as usual, ended up with the soccer team. Seeing how they themselves were track and field athletes, they didn't really belong with them, but Reiner's ability to spread camaraderie and his just _somewhat_ competitive attitude, had earned them both permanent permission to hang out with them at social gatherings. And Reiner hadn't hesitated to prove his worth that night, as he had joyfully drunk both of their goalies under the table after just about an hour, the rest of the team cheering them all on.

But Bertholdt had as usual stuck more to the background. Reiner was the charismatic one out of the two of them, and it was he that always insisted that they went to those parties in the first place, seeing how Bertholdt was just as satisfied staying at home. But Reiner needed the rush of excitement that large crowds brought, and Bertholdt was never one to deny him that. 

It was peculiar, being part of the soccer team bubble at parties. Even though they were at the center of the whole ordeal, it was as if they had slipped into world of their own. The blaring music was still heard, but it didn't drown out their conversation. People was constantly moving around them, and to and from their little group, but the thin veil shutting them off from all the rest was never broken. And it was quite a relief to Bertholdt, who wasn't a fan of the rowdiness and movement of large gatherings of people.

But he had to admit that it was fun to catch up with his friends again. Even though they weren't much to catch up with once they got drunk. But then it was kind of fun just watching them making fools of themselves. 

Reiner had just challenged the team captain to a drinking game when Thomas Wagner pulled Bertholdt's attention away from watching Sasha and Connie, who had managed to just about empty the whole dance floor with their next song. He and Thomas had never been very close to one another, but Bertholdt could actually see a lot of himself in him. Thomas was clumsy and awkward, but unlike Bertholdt, he was freely spoken, especially when tipsy, which often just worsened his awkwardness. 

And then Thomas was blushing furiously red and was stuttering incoherently. Bertholdt was just about to reach out to Thomas in a vain attempt to try and comfort him from whatever he had said that made him so uncomfortable, when Eren suddenly stood up. The action took Bertholdt by surprise. He hadn't noticed much of Eren for the entire night, probably because he and Jean had kept out of each other's ways, and he watched in confusion as Eren climbed on top of the couch he had previously been seated at. Even Reiner and the team captain paused their intense beer chugging to watch whatever their friend was doing.

"Eren?" 

Bertholdt had just reached out for him when a loud crash filled the room.

* * *

Marco had just helped a very confused and very drunk freshman girl to the front door, where her very concerned friends had been looking for her. After making sure that they were going to get home okay, he had made his way back to the living room again. Raking a hand through his hair, he tried to catch his breath as he watched all the people moving around him. Sasha and Connie was still going at it hard on the dance floor, he didn't think they had stopped for even a minute ever since they had started about two and a half hours earlier. Ymir and Christa were catching up with some girls Marco didn't recognize. Reiner, Bertholdt and Eren were all wedged around one of Jean’s design couches, alongside most of Eren’s soccer team, discussing wildly, while Mikasa were watching them from the other side of the room, a seemingly untouched cup of wine in her hand.

But what Marco was really searching for was the lean brunet that was currently gulping down an entire can of beer in just one swig.

Marco had seen Jean down at least three glasses of rakia and countless of other alcoholic beverages ever since he had returned after confronting the “flower puker”. He seemed restless and antsy, and it was worrying Marco. Jean wasn't the kindest drunk, and the last thing they needed was for the host to punch one of the guests.

And even worse; what if it was he that had set him off? What if he had come off as too friendly, what if he had screwed everything up… Marco was just about to reach out to him when he walked by, but Jean completely ignored him, his stride confident and determined, and just a little shaky, as he crossed the room, and stopped right by…

Mikasa.

“Hey.” She looked up in surprise as Jean halted in front of her, but her face quickly fell back to her quite expressionless features.

“Hi Jean.”

“So…” Jean leaned his shoulder against the wall next to her, displaying his back to Marco, and he shamefully crept closer to them so he could hear the rest of their conversation. “How you doin’?”

“I’m fine.” Mikasa’s voice was as usually kind and agreeable, but Marco could hear the undertones of irritation, and he couldn't help but smile to himself. When was Jean going to realize that he didn't stand a chance in the world to catch her attention?

And Marco could only imagine what was going through Marlowe’s mind as he found him, leaning into Jean and Mikasa’s private conversation, creepily smiling to himself. He was just hoping that he was drunk enough to not pay much attention to it.

“Hey, Marco.”

“Yeah!” Disgracefully standing up straighter and trying to wipe the stupid grin off his face, Marco turned around to Marlowe, one of their fellow 104th graduates and the school’s mascot. Marlowe had sported a quite ridiculous bowl cut for as long as Marco could remember, and one of the reasons as to why they weren't really that close, was that he could never quite tell where the part Titan stood.

And the fact that they didn't share homeroom. That had probably a lot to do with it.

“Those ones are yours, right?” Thankfully ignoring Marco’s dubious behavior, Marlowe simply nodded to the makeshift dance floor of Jean’s living room. It didn't take long for Marco to realize what he was talking about, as Connie and Sasha were currently the only ones dancing. On the other hand, it took him a moment to identify the song they were currently playing, seeing how they weren't singing in English, but in… French?

“Yeah, Connie and Sasha,” he offered Marlowe absentmindedly, and they took a moment to watch the odd duo. 

“Are they already that wasted?” Marlowe wondered as he looked down at his watch, probably wondering if _he_ was already that wasted. But Marco didn't even bother fighting the smile that tugged at his lips as he inspected the two goofballs. 

“I don’t even think they’re drunk,” he told Marlowe while still not looking away from them. “I think they just have an excuse to finally let everything go.”

Marlowe looked up at him with a slightly baffled expression.

“Weird,” was the only thing he muttered before disappearing from Marco’s sight.

And before he had time to think about what to do then, something at the other side of the room caught his attention, before Mikasa called out in distress.

“Eren, no!”

But by then it was too late, and a loud crash filled the room. Eren had apparently climbed on top of the couch to try and do _something_ , but had lost balance and fallen face first to the floor. Mikasa was quickly by his side, heaving him up to his feet and draping one of his arms across her shoulders as he pressed the other one to his bleeding nose. As soon as everyone saw him standing up again, he lost their interest and everyone returned to what they had previously been doing, but Marco walked over to see if he could help. 

Eren was mumbling something incoherently under the blood dripping from his nose down at his cherished letterman jacket, and Mikasa was scowling at him viciously under the weight of him. Marco was just about to ask if he could help them somehow when Mikasa cut him off.

“Bathroom’s second door to the left, right?”

“Yes, but…” Marco just watched them leave, feeling useless as he looked down at the small pool of blood that Eren had left behind on the hardwood floor. Marco was just about to go into the kitchen to find something to clean it up with, as he saw Jean walking over to Connie and Sasha.

By now more people had joined in their dancing to the peculiar song, and Jean was watching them with just a slightly annoyed expression.

“I can’t believe you’re playing this.”

“Oh, come on, Jean!”

“This is _your_ language.” Sasha, grabbing hold of his wrist, obviously tried to get him to join her, but Jean was evidently not up to reconnect with his french roots as he pulled away from her grasp. Sasha, just shrugging, turned back to Connie to continue whatever it was they called dancing, and Jean turned his back to them.

Marco sought his gaze and tried to smile at him carefully, but Jean just shook his head softly before turning his back to him too.

And it was with a heavy heart Marco walked into the kitchen to find an old cloth or whatever to clean up the mess.

* * *

Ymir watched as Christa drank herself senseless.

Christa knew that she was a lightweight due to her small frame, and had always been able to handle her drinking. But that night she had completely lost it. And Ymir felt quite helpless as she watched her girlfriend replacing the sweat that was dripping down her tanned face with wine. 

Something had been off about Christa all summer. Her smile had not shone as bright as it used to, and she had not been her usual cheerful and optimistic self. They had spent most of their time just hanging out at Ymir's, and it had been Ymir that had forced Christa to go and hang out with their friends. It was usually the other way around. But Ymir hadn't pushed her, not forced her to admit something she wasn't ready for yet.

And seeing how not being in a very outgoing mood had put Christa in a very snugly mood, Ymir hadn't complained.

But seeing her loosing herself completely to alcohol, worried her.

"Christa, don't you think you've..." Grabbing hold of the wine bottle that Christa was currently helping herself to, Ymir looked down at her in concern. But not seeming to have a care in the world, Christa's eyes just shone up as she inspected Ymir.

"Dance with me." Christa's voice was breathless as her fervent fingers grabbed hold of her waist to drag her out onto the dance floor, and Ymir really couldn't blame herself for caving in.

* * *

Armin had watched Eren fall flat on his face, but had decided that Mikasa probably had the situation handled, and had remained by his place leaned against the wall.

Armin wasn’t much for parties. But seeing how his friends were, he never missed them. And it wasn't as bad as you’d think, watching his friends slowly losing their minds and making fools of themselves.

And seeing how Armin was usually the only one remembering everything, he always had crazy leverage on them all.

So it isn't that bad, being at a party and not partying. As long as you’re content in watching others, you should be fine.

The only bothering part was the impressions. The sharp lights and the blaring music and the even louder people and the suffocating crowds and the inconsiderate drunks. That was why Armin often found himself standing by himself in a corner or similarly, where there was less chance of people bumping into him.

So it threw him slightly off guard when someone actually walked over to him.

“Hey.” He looked down in surprise at the voice that had greeted him. 

“Hi,” he managed to answer, his throat clogging up. He could feel himself starting to fidget with his own fingers, nervosity spreading out through him from the bottom of his stomach. _Why on earth would a pretty girl like her want to stand, nonetheless_ talk _with someone like him?_

“You’re not a crowd person either?” She looked up at him, and Armin forced himself to meet her gaze. She really was pretty. Ashy blonde hair that fell into her face and that she constantly kept sweeping away, eyes like the points of icicles, and a sharp and strong face. 

“Not exactly.” He smiled softly, and even though she didn’t smile back, her eyes seemed to soften in the dim light.

“You want some?” All of a sudden a water bottle was shoved into his face, and he accepted it with uncertain hands.

“Thanks.” As he uncapping the bottle, he realized that he was quite parched, and took a deep swig. 

“It’s tequila.” Her voice was calm as the clear liquid singed down the back of his throat. Armin managed not to gag, but just barely, and gasped for air when he was able to breathe again.

“I noticed,” was all he managed to spit out between soft coughs.

“It looked like you could need some.” She smiled at him, a sweet and innocent smile, not showing a single trace of the spite Armin had expected. Armin just stared at her smile as he tried to catch his breath and tried to figure out just what on earth was going on.

“Yeah. Thank you.” Raising the bottle to his lips again, taking a much more careful swig, he found he appreciated the softly burning sensation that trickled down his throat. Grimacing slightly at the bitter taste, he capped the bottle again before offering it back. But she just shook his head.

“Uh-uh, keep it.”

“You don’t want it?”

“I think I’ve had enough for one night.”

Armin looked at the almost still full bottle, and then back at her cool gaze, and felt a soft tugging in his stomach that had nothing to do with alcohol.

“You’re Annie.” There was a soft glint in her eyes at his statement found himself incapable to tear himself from them.

“Yes.”

“I’m Armin.” He gently offered his hand, and Annie eyes it for a moment before accepting it.

“Nice to meet ya.” She mocked their small town accent with a careful smile as she shook his hand in a steadfast grip, and Armin couldn’t help but to grin.

_Oh, was he in too deep already._

* * *

After almost three hours of constant dancing, Connie had finally collapsed in one of Jean’s expensive armchairs, Sasha snuggled into his lap. Her hair was messy and her blouse askew, and he was sweaty and exhausted, and she was whispering drunken insults with him, and he never wanted that moment to end. But then a drunk blonde came along and whisked her away from him.

“Sasha!” Christa, her petite face flushed and her grand eyes wild, grabbed hold of Sasha’s arms and pulled her out of Connie’s lap before either of them had time to react. 

“Oh, oh, we’re dancin? We’re dancin’.” Sasha turned around to silently shrug at Connie before Christa had pulled her out on the dance floor, effortlessly turning Christa in an underarm turn.

And even though Connie definitely would have preferred to have Sasha stay in his lap, he was content in just watching her dance too. He could tell the rest of the room was hypnotized by Christa, her long blonde hair flying as if she were at a photo shoot, and her white summer dress making her look like a hispanic version Marilyn Monroe. But Connie couldn't take his eyes of his very own hunter princess, her hips swaying to the music, her slender fingers brushing through her bangs as she and Christa sang at the top of their lungs and…

"We're two lucky bastards, aren't we Springer?"

Connie swore as he jumped in his seat and had been _that_ close to punch Ymir in the face as she appeared above him. He glared at her, but she just cocked an eyebrow in question as she panted shallowly, exposing how she had been Christa’s previous victim. 

But he didn't argue with her, and she sat down on the floor next to him, leaning back against the side of his armchair, and they watched the girls together in silence, as they danced to the frantic tambourine music. As the song ended, Christa was eagerly trying to make Sasha stay, but she was firm in her refusal, much to Christa’s obvious disappointment. But not wasting any time, she ran over to her girlfriend again, pulling her up to her feet through Ymir’s weak protests.

Sasha on the other hand, came strolling back to Connie.

“Dude,” she sighed before throwing herself back into his lap, landing hard on his groin and making him choke on his own breath. “I’m so gay for Christa.”

Connie looked up at her flushed face, sheen with a faint layer of sweat, her eyes sparkling as her heart raced against his own chest. He reached up a hand to caress her burning cheek, incredulous at how such beauty could have settled for his plain self. 

“Oh, is that so?” Sasha managed to laugh quickly through her pants, a sound that was as close to heaven’s music as Connie could come.

“Oh, like yer not.”

Working through the daze of Sasha’s presence and the alcohol, it took Connie a moment to reply.

“I think I’m still straight for liking Christa.” It came out much more uncertainly than he had intended, and Sasha just laughed at him again.

“Whatever ya say, nerf herder.”

And with that, she snuggled closer to him, her heartbeat slowing to match his own again, as they continued their drunk insulting.

* * *

“Are you kidding me? _The Game_ was like, one of their worst albums, _ever_.”

Armin’s jaw fell slightly in offence, but he quickly managed to recollect himself.

“That’s your opinion. I’ve always been a sucker for _Play the game_.” Annie laughed quietly, and Armin could feel the butterflies in his stomach growing.

They had long ago slid down the wall, and was currently sitting next to each other on the hardwood floor. The bottle of tequila had been passed between them, but it was almost as full as it had been an hour ago. The light was dimmer in their little corner of the room, and it was if they had escaped into a world entirely their own, shutting out the music and the people and movement. 

Armin actually couldn't remember how they had fallen into the subject of music, he had just suddenly noticed that they had. It had been a long time since he had found it that simple to just talk to a stranger, and Annie had sparked one hell of a conversation. The only time they had paused it was to watch when Connie and Sasha starting the mustache song for the third time, dragging a slightly intoxicated Jean with them in their crazy dancing, and soon being joined by what felt like the entire party. Annie had inquired if their parties were always like this, and Armin had only been able to nod in response.

“But you have to admit that _Innuendo_ is their best.” Annie smiled gently before taking another swig from the tequila, and Armin had to pull a face.

“ _Innuendo?_ ” Annie just stared at him at that, her cool eyes daring him to contradict her, and Armin could feel his face falling back to a more neutral expression. “Agree to disagree?”

Annie inspected him a moment before handing him the bottle.

“Fine.” 

She leaned her head back against the wall behind her, turning her gaze out into the sea of people in front of them, and Armin watched her as he carefully drank from the bottle. Her face was all sharp angles, from her pointed nose to her strong jawline, but her lips were all about soft curves, and Armin couldn't help but wonder…

“What do you think of fire?” 

Armin shook his head in confusion.

“What?”

“What do you think of fire?” Annie simply asked again, without turning her head to look at him. Armin followed her gaze, and landed way over at the other side of the room, on a guy playing around with a lighter as he leaned out through a window, smoking. The flame sparked to life as he pressed down on the igniter and flicked around in the air for a few seconds before he killed it. And so the procedure repeated itself. Armin looked back at Annie, whose eyes were still fixated on the flickering flame.

“Um, I don’t know…” Armin started uncertainly. “Beautiful… But dangerous?”

First then did Annie look back at him, and it was with a gentle smile on her soft lips.

“Yeah,” was all she offered him before leaning back against the wall. They fell into silence after that, both content in just watching the chaos playing out before them.

Eren, having returned with Mikasa a while ago, with a small wad of toilet paper sticking out of his nose, had sat down at his previous seat among his soccer team, but this time with Mikasa next to him and with a bitter expression on his bruised face. But Sasha, after having scolded Eren for always keeping from Mikasa from having any fun, had sat Connie on Eren sitting and had forced Mikasa to chug down two cans of beer before dragging her out on the dance floor to her favorite Ke$ha song. Armin smiled as he watched them, glad that someone managed to make Mikasa relax, even if just for a moment. And seeing the two dancing girls, Christa excitedly tugged at Ymir to join her on the dance floor again, but since her girlfriend was hunched over from exhaustion, Christa quickly gave up her attempts and joined Sasha and Mikasa alone.

And that was when everything started going downhill. 

The three girls were carelessly singing and jumping in time with the music as a group of tall and burly guys approached them. Armin didn't recognize them, and they seemed just a little bit too old to be attending a high school party. But appearing friendly enough, they just asked if they could dance with the girls. Sasha declined for both her and Mikasa, grabbing hold of the dark haired girl’s wrist and leading her to the other side of the floor. But the tallest of the guys, standing almost half a meter taller than her, had better luck with Christa. Christa seemed to embrace any new dance partner she could get her hands on, and soon enough the unusual couple had made their way to the end of the dance floor, just a few feet away from where Armin and Annie was sitting, close enough for Armin to hear their conversation over the music.

“Hey, you’re the lesbian, aren't you?” The tall guy asked casually, and Christa stopped dead in her tracks, looking up at him with animosity in her usually gentle eyes, and it surprised Armin to not see a trace of her sweet self.

“What are you getting at?” 

“That maybe you just haven’t met the right guy yet,” the jerk slurred as he reached out towards her chest.

“Hey, get off me, you fucking creep!” Christa shoved at him, and seeing that she was surprisingly strong for such a small frame, the jerk was forced to back off a few steps, and Armin rose to his feet in apprehension, Annie hot on his heels. But the jerk just ginned nastily before walking up to her again.

“Now, now, c’mon sweetheart…”

“Hey!” The jerk drew back momentarily as he came face to face with Ymir, even though she still lacked a good ten inches on him. “She said hands off.”

“And what are you?” Regaining some of his guts, the jerk leaned down to Ymir’s level to look her dead in the eye. “Her _girlfriend?_ ” 

“You fucking bet I am.” And with that, Ymir’s fist collided with the jerk’s nose. 

The impact of the blow sent the jerk staggering backwards, clutching at his face. But he soon regained his posture and threw himself at her. But Ymir, being considerable more sober than the jerk, easily sidestepped his attack and brought him stumbling into one of the bookshelves lining the walls, books skidding out all over the floor. But the two were still quickly engaged in a dirty brawl, with hair pulling and biting, and Armin found himself frozen to his place next to them, just watching them next to Annie, who had a shocked expression plastered onto her face. And the whole room seemed closed in on them, the crowd soundlessly watching the two fighters to see which of them would walk out of there with their pride intact. 

“Yeah!” Christa, on the other hand, was proudly cheering her girlfriend on. “Kick his ass!”

The thing to finally kick Armin into action was when the jerks friends were closing in on them all, and he quickly grabbed hold of Christa, holding on to her small frame and covering her mouth. Hindering her from doing something dumb, like inciting the considerably larger men to pick a fight with them, or something even dumber, like actually jumping them.

And that was about when Mikasa came pushing through the crowd to split up the two troublemakers. She just about had to pinch into their ears to have them whimpering by her feet, and then the whole thing was over. Sasha was quickly at Ymir’s side, helping her stagger to her feet, her face bloodied and bruised. But she seemed proud over the work she had done on the jerk’s face, who looked just about the same.

“I think it’s time for you to leave.” Eren, despite his own face being beat up, stood confidently against the jerk and his friends, before he got help from Connie, Bertholdt and Reiner to escort him and his friends out.

Only then did Armin feel comfortable releasing his hold on Christa, and she staggered to Ymir’s side, caressing her bloody face. Armin looked over at Annie, who was just in the process of recollecting her stunned expression, and he was just about to reach out to her, when the music was abruptly cut off and he saw Jean out of the corner of his eye, stepping up upon the coffee table at the other side of the room. 

“Okay, that’s it!” His agitated voice echoed around the suddenly deadly silent room, and then the light was switched on, blinding them all. “Everybody, _out!_ ” 

For just a short moment, everybody just stared at him in silence, the finger that pointed to the entrance door shaking with anger. And then the entire room started moving all at once, people shoving and shouting at each other. Armin paused for just an instant, wondering if he should stay to say goodbye to his friends, but seeing Jean’s tired expression and how everybody else had their hands full, he decided to stick with Annie instead. But as he turned around to her…

She was gone.

Giving his busy friends one last glance, Armin pushed into the stream of people, straining to make his way to the exit. And as he finally stumbled out of the door, he was out of breath and his shoulder was aching from where someone had elbowed him, but he was desperately searching for the short, blonde head of…

“Annie!” Jogging to catch up to her, even though he already had trouble breathing, he weaved his way through the various passed out people on Jean’s front yard. Not turning around until she was already out on the sidewalk, she watched with a confused look as Armin hastily bent over in a futile attempt to catch his breath. Standing up straight again in order to look her in the eye, he managed to cough out; “Will I see you again?”

Her pale hair became luminous in the weak moonlight, her cheeks were flushed from the bustle that had been getting out of the house, her eyes were steady and calming on his, and Armin had never seen someone so beautiful in his entire life. But then she smiled a timid smile, and he could feel his racing heart skipping several beats.

“We’ll see.”

And just like that, she was gone.

* * *

To be honest, Mina didn't remember much from that night. But one does not simply forget a fight like that one. And as Hitch had forcefully dragged her out of the house, she had walked straight into someone else's path.

“Oh my god! I’m so sorry!” Rubbing at her forehead, that had bumped into someone else’s temple, she unsteadily walked out of the way of the crowd pouring out of the entrance door. But her heel caught at something, and she felt herself tripping, but was at the last moment steadied by a pair of strong hands. It wasn't until then she had had the chance to look at the poor soul she had bumped into, and as she did, an involuntary hiccup escaped her.

“No, no, it’s fine, I should have watched where I was going.” Mina knew that she knew the blonde boy with sideburns and soft brown eyes that was currently holding her, but she couldn't put his finger on who he was. And as Mina breathlessly watched him, trying to figure it out, his already flushed cheeks became even redder, and Mina was _so certain that she knew him from somewhere..._

“Mina, c’mon!” She turned around at Hitch’s irritated voice, and as she did, the boys hand left her shoulders, and so did the warmth of them, and Mina felt so bad that she couldn't seem to remember who he was, but she was drunk and tired and just wanted to go home, so she decided to let the whole situation go.

“Well, I’m still sorry.” Offering him a weak smile, she slowly backed away from him. “Bye!” And with that she wobbled her way over to Hitch again.

But just as she had caught up with the other girl again, it all just clicked, and she turned around just in time to see Thomas awkwardly waving her goodbye.

* * *

Getting people out of his fucking living room had been a piece of cake. It was getting people out of the rest of the house and off his goddamn lawn that was the problem.

In hindsight, Jean supposed he should have seen it coming. Inviting Ymir to any social event was like playing Russian roulette, only that in Ymir’s case, instead of only one chamber being loaded, every chamber _except_ for one was loaded.

But he supposed he couldn't blame everything on Ymir. She hopefully wouldn't have had anyone to fight unless that asshole had managed to get in, and he had managed to get in because Jean had allowed him.

But he was not taking any responsibility.

Or at least he tried not to.

“Out!” Opening the door to his mom’s bedroom, he covered his eyes from whatever sight greeted him. He didn’t uncover them until the last pair of footsteps had passed by him, and even then, he turned the lights off in the room and turned around as soon as possible to not have to inspect the site of abomination. 

That was his mother’s bedroom. His god worshiping and conservative mother. _Oh, was he going to have a headache the morning._

Closing the bedroom door behind him, he looked down the hallway at the rooms he had already emptied and decided to head downstairs. But as he set foot on the first step, he caught sight of Marco further down the hall. Marco, who was helping one of the barely dressed girls that Jean had just ushered out of his mother’s bedroom to put on her shoes. Marco, whose usually immaculate appearance had failed him, as his hair stood up in a million different directions and his button down shirt was rumpled, with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, exposing his freckled skin. Marco, who was still there to help Jean clean up this mess, even after he had shrugged him off the entire night.

Jean quickly backed into the hallway again, in order to violently slam his already aching head against the wall.

_He was such an idiot._

Jean had purposely avoided Marco ever since the flower puker incident. The bastard had made some kind of comment of how Marco hadn't been a man enough to deal with him on his own, but had to send out his boyfriend to do it, and Jean had punched that sucker before he could stop himself. Luckily, it hadn't been a very good blow, and the puker had been too drunk to really process what had happened, and Jean could throw him out before anything got out of hand. But he hadn't been able to look Marco in the eye after that.

So of course his heartbeat quickened as he heard light footsteps jogging up the stairs.

“Jean,” Marco’s eyes scanned the hallway, and softened as they landed on him. “I don’t think we’re going to get any more people out of here. They’re either passed out, or so drunk that they’re going to pass out…”

But Jean didn’t care anymore. He had gotten their friends out of the house, and that was most important. Because fire was burning underneath his skin, a fire that had nothing to do with the shit ton of alcohol he had poured into himself.

And so he grabbed hold of the collar of Marco’s shirt, effectively cutting him off mid sentence, before pulling him into Jean’s room, which he had luckily managed to keep invader free. Closing the door with the weight of Marco’s body, Jean placed his hands on either side of his head, leaning in closer to him. Marco’s rapidly quickening breath was hot against Jean’s cheeks and his eyes were burning in the dark.

“Now the real party’s getting started.”

A low groan was the only thing that could escape Marco before Jean’s lips crashed against his.

* * *

Sasha had no idea how she and Connie had ended up on Jean’s back porch in the middle of the night. 

After Jean had ordered everybody out, the crowd had quickly dispersed out into the night. After Ymir had wiped away the blood from her nose, she had thanked Sasha for the help before guiding a swaying Christa out of the house. Mikasa had washed away with the crowd and Jean had stalked off, fire cursing behind his usually light eyes, and before she knew it, Connie had pulled her down next to him at the edge of the wooden veranda. 

Connie had one arm wrapped around her as they slowly inspected the stars above them, Connie pointing out constellations and telling her how Hercules had earned his place among the stars after bravely sleeping with the revered Cenotaur, the half moose, before sailing the seven seas in search for the magical silver slough. And as he finished his story, he weaved his hand into hers, leaning his head on her shoulder, his slow breaths forming small clouds of steam in the ever chillier air.

Sasha inspected their intertwined hands as she leaned her head on his, fighting the drowsiness that always came after nights like that one. She was just about to suggest that they should at least head inside to steal some of Jean’s blankets if they were going to spend the night outside, when a loud crash suddenly broke through the otherwise silent night. Sasha’s hunter instincts fought through her already approaching hangover and drowsiness, and her eyes quickly swept over her surroundings before she furrowed her eyebrows in confusion.

“It sounds like someone’s screwin’.”

Connie just yawned loudly before reaching up a hand to gently fondle her face, before making his way to the top of her head, patting it sleepily.

“Just your imagination, princess.”

And before they knew it, they were snoring in unison beneath the twinkling stars.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Could you tell I'm not a party person?
> 
> I was hesitant to write this chapter. Because I knew it would involve seeing things "from the other side". From the perspective of someone _not_ getting drunk and _not_ being comfortable in this kind of setting. But then I realized that I was so hesitant _because_ it's not often you get to see that side of things. So, here it is.
> 
> And I'm sorry if Bertholdt's and Armin's parts came off as a little too similar to each other, but that's because I see them having two very similar personalities. We all know that Marco and Armin were canonically very close friends, but I remember someone saying how Bertholdt could have made them a very good trio. And that sounded just about right to me. I can just see those three kindhearted boys getting along so well together, and I hope I can find the time to explore their friendship in the future.
> 
> And if you can’t see Sasha and Connie rocking it out to _Moustache_ … I’m sorry, but then there’s nothing I can do for you.
> 
> But in case you haven’t heard it yet, you can find it [here](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hWJFfnHNOWI).
> 
> And ten points to you if you get the “nerf herder” reference! And I suppose twenty if you know what kind of music Armin and Annie listens to.
> 
> And now I too have finally returned to school and I'm so sick and tired already and I know this chapter is pretty crappy but I've spent more time trying to edit it than actually writing it, so you'll just have to deal with it.


	4. You and I

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Even the cloudiest of days turn bright with the right person by your side.
> 
> Or;
> 
> In which Eren is grumpy, Armin is awkward, Connie gets ditched, Mikasa just want a break, Jean is madly in love with his best friend and Levi and Erwin are gay old men in love.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _“Somethin’, somethin’ about this place_   
>  _Somethin’ ‘bout lonely nights and my lipstick on your face_   
>  _Somethin’, somethin’ about my cool Nebraska guy_   
>  _Yeah somethin’ about, baby, you and I”_   
>  **\- Lady Gaga, “You and I”**

You and I were a duo quite like no other.

* * *

Eren was not excited to return to school the Monday after Kirschtein’s party. Not only was his face still bruised, but his ego was broken, seeing how Mikasa had spent the entire weekend scolding him. And when his mom had returned home that Sunday after a weekend out of town on business, he had begged her to not tattle. But what had she done? She had told his mom the moment she walked in through the front door. So not only had he been forced to listen to Mikasa’s scolding the entire weekend, he had gotten a real good scolding from his mother too.

But he had felt a little better walking into homeroom that morning, seeing everybody else’s war damages.

Jean still seemed hungover, Mina looked like a wreck, Connie, sitting in Sasha’s lap, was sprawled out over her bench, as she snored softly against his back. Christa had walked in with her eyes hidden behind an enormous pair of shades and her face hidden in the shade of a baseball cap, and her catchphrase for the entire week had been “I don’t want to talk about it”.

Ymir, on the other hand, had proudly strutted around with her black eye and split lip and was glad to recite the events of that night.

Armin was another one who had also seemed surprisingly cheerful the entire weekend. Seeing how Eren had had the Jaeger house all to himself, Armin had spent the entire weekend there, as usual. And seeing how Mikasa’s parents were out of town once again, on an archaeology trip out of state, they had left Mikasa in the Jaeger household, just like they had done ever since they were both small kids. And the three of them had spent the weekend rehabilitating, or, mostly rehabilitating Eren, from the party together. Just the three of them, like it always had been. But as Eren had questioned Mikasa about Armin’s surprisingly good mood, she had only frowned and told him “it wasn't like she had expected him to notice”.

Whatever the hell that was supposed to mean.

And as Mr. Ackerman had walked in just a few minutes before the second bell, holding a “Kiss me I’m gay” mug, having accidentally poured his tea into one of principal Smith’s coffee mugs again, he stopped momentarily to inspect them all.

“You all look like hell.”

And whether they liked it or not, school just mercilessly continued. But Eren was lucky he had Armin, whose cheerful mood never faltered for the entire week, even as he had to drag and push Eren to his classes. And Eren was doing just fine, up until Wednesday morning's Algebra class.

Auruo Bossard, or more commonly known as the Trost High School plague, was just that. Even though he was only in his late 30s, his hair was already going gray and he had deep wrinkles in his forehead, probably from wearing his permanent scowl. He had a creepy obsession with Mr. Ackerman, and the younger students had been told how his behavior had only become nastier as the younger teacher started teaching at the school, trying to earn the same amount of respect and authority as him, but only coming off as a tormentor instead.

And that Wednesday morning, he was just simply being a pain in the…

“What do you mean with ‘ _You don’t know_ ’?” 

“That I don’t know!” Mina’s voice was hopeless, and her eyes watered as she looked up at Auruo by his place in front of the blackboard. But he just looked back at the nearly crying girl with spite.

“Well, Miss Carolina, you would do well in remembering…” Eren was just about to flip a table, when someone interrupted all of them.

“Darling?” The whole classroom turned to the entrance door, where a strawberry blond head had suddenly appeared. Mrs. Ral smiled as she realized that she had made it to the right classroom, and merrily walked in. “There you are.”

The entire class fell into deadly silence as she walked up to Auruo’s desk, picked up a document from the messy pile of them, and fondly patted his cheek before turning back to leave again. But inspecting the class on her way out, seeing their horrified expressions and the teary-eyed Mina, she promptly stopped in her tracks. Turning on her heel with a furious look in her eyes, she pointed a shaking finger in Auruo’s direction while her jaw moved up and down, seemingly not being able to decide what she wanted to say.

“Later,” she finally ground out before turning on her heel again and stalking out.

For a moment, the room was silent in shock, as also Auruo’s had an expression of horror on his face. But as Mrs. Ral slammed the door shut behind her, he seemed to shake out of it, and he returned his attention to his stunned students.

“What are you staring at?” He spat out viciously. “Back to work!”

And after that, he allowed them all to actually work in silence.

* * *

Eren was still going on about how horrendous Auruo had been earlier that morning at the end of their lunch hour. Armin had learned long ago that it was simply best to let him complain until he ran out of energy, and had just tuned out, nodding and agreeing at the right places as he ate. Armin knew full well what a terrible teacher Auruo was, but he had a little hard time believing that he had actually called them “ugly bastards” and beaten Franz with a ruler.

And zoning out of his conversation with Eren, Armin had time to inspect his other friends around the table. Reiner, having been in Algebra with Eren, was in deep conversation with Bert, and Jean had his face in his hands, ignoring the lunch tray in front of him. He had still not gotten rid of the bags under his eyes, and his mother had returned the night before, apparently not pleased with the state of her house. Armin had wondered if he, Eren and Mikasa shouldn't have headed over that weekend to help him clean up, but Eren had immediately brushed off the suggestion, saying that “if the horseface isn't asking, we’re not offering”. 

Armin felt bad for not having pressed the matter harder, but then he wondered how much help they would have been. Jean had never had any problem cleaning up parties before, so it must have been something really major that time.

So what caught Armin’s eye was the apprehensive glances Marco kept sending Jean. Having finished his lunch long ago, he had wiped out a notebook and started scribbling. But he couldn't have jotted much down, seeing how busy he was watching Jean.

Armin had been meaning to catch up with Marco earlier. They hadn't seen much of each other that summer, their paths never quite crossing. And something had seemed off about him during all their time back at school. He and Jean was always seen with each other, as usual, but they didn't seem as close as they had been just that spring. Jean almost never looked directly at him, and Marco became fidgety as soon as he was around. _Something_ must have happened over summer break.

So when lunch break was almost over, and Eren offered to bring his epic tale of Aurou the Monster outside for them to catch what was maybe the last of the summer sun, most of them didn't decline. But when Armin noticed Marco staying behind, his eyes finally trained on the notebook in front of him, he saw his opportunity.

Sitting down at the chair that Eren had just left vacant next to Marco, Armin was determined to find out what had happened.

“Hey, Marco.”

“Hmm?” Chewing at the top of his pencil, Marco didn’t look up from his messy notes. Armin only caught stray words, but they were words as “pumpkin” and “skeleton” and “candles”, and realized that Marco was already planning the annual Halloween party. Marco had been the head of that committee ever since freshman year, and had managed to turn a boring tradition into one of the school years most anticipated events. 

But shaking his head, Armin remembered why he had decided to stay behind.

“What’s going on with you?”

“What?” Marco looked up in surprise, his pen falling to the notebook below him.

“What’s going on with you?” Armin repeated, lowering his voice. “You’re all fidgety, and Jean won’t meet your eyes. Did something happen between you two?”

“What? _What?_ ” Marco’s voice pitched an entire octave higher and his face contorted into a forced smile. “No! _No_ , no, no, no…” Armin had always believed himself to be a terrible liar, but Marco was just a bit worse, and he just had to raise an eyebrow before he cracked. His face fell in disappointment and he exhaled heavily as he stared into Armin’s eyes. “Yes?” His whisper was confused and broken before he burrowed his burning face into his hands. “Oh my god, I wasn't supposed to tell!”

Armin could only watch him in bewilderment as he mumbled incoherently into the palms of his hands.

“Tell what?”

Marco suddenly looked up at him, his usually warm face void of expression and his dark eyes threatening on Armin’s.

“You have to promise me you won’t breathe a word of this to any living soul. Not Eren, not Mikasa, not _anyone_.” Offering up his pinky, Marco’s eyes bored into Armin’s, and he had to resist the need to gulp. “Got it?”

“Not a word to anyone, got it.” Intertwining his pinky with Marco’s, Armin made the most confused pinky swear of his life.

After having sealed the promise, Marco sat up straighter in his chair, warily looking around the emptying cafeteria as he smoothed out his cardigan. Settling to look Armin straight in the eye, he just tried to smile encouragingly.

“Well… You see… Um…” Pushing a hand through his neatly styled hair, Marco averted his eyes from Armin’s to take a deep breath. Looking back up at him, Marco settled his shoulders and spoke painfully slow. “Jean, and I are… Kindasleepingwitheachother.”

The last part came out in a breathless mumble, and Armin didn't catch a word of it. Leaning in closer to Marco, he softly furrowed his eyebrows.

“What?”

Marco had started to nervously pull at the joints of his fingers, a bad habit of his that he had had ever since they were small children. Closing his eyes from Armin’s questioning look, he swallowed harshly as he clasped his hands in his lap.

“Jean and I…” Marco licked his lips quickly as he pressed his eyelids together tightly before looking up at Armin again, his deep eyes uncertain under furrowed eyebrows. “Are kind of… Together?”

Armin, who had tried to be encouraging and supporting throughout the whole conversation, couldn't help to twitch out of surprise. Together? As in _together_ together? As in together; romantically?

“Oh my god,” he breathed out before he could stop himself, but seeing Marco’s panicked expression, he was quick in adding; “Marco, that’s great!” But allowing his eyebrows to furrow slightly again, he studied Marco closer. “Right?”

“I don’t know,” Marco sighed as he covered his now pale face with his hands, his fingers tugging at the freckled skin. “Jean’s not ready to come out yet, and we've been sneaking around all summer. It’s killing me not being able to tell any of you, and… And, I don’t know.”

Letting his hands fall to his lap again, Marco’s shoulders sagged in defeat, and Armin could see the hopelessness in his empty gaze. Armin felt a soft tug in his stomach. Out of all the persons Marco could have confided this too, he had chosen him, the one least likely to have any advice for this sort of situation. None of them were really relationship experts, but at least Connie, Sasha, Christa and Ymir had all held long time relationships, Bertholdt was the best listener and Mikasa the best adviser.

But for some reason Marco had chosen Armin.

So Armin did his best trying to cheer him up.

“Well, you’ve told me,” he said as he patted him encouragingly on the shoulder. But Marco just looked up at him with his lethal stare again.

“And you’re not allowed to tell any living soul.”

“Right.” Armin awkwardly retracted his hand, and they fell into silence after that, Marco staring down at his hands with a dazed expression. “This explains quite a lot actually,” he offered after a while. “Mostly why Jean hasn't even put effort into trying to flirt with Mikasa lately.”

Marco huffed quickly, and for just a moment, Armin could see the usual warmth in his eyes.

“I don’t even understand why he still insists on that cover.” And even though he smiled weakly, there was a pain in Marco’s eyes as he looked up at Armin. But just as he was about to say something, anything really, to cheer him up, Marco beat him to it, shaking his head softly before donning one of his most warming smiles. “But enough about me and Jean. What about you, and the new girl?”

Then it was Armin’s turn to become flustered.

“What?”

“It’s not like we couldn't all see you last week.” There was a genuine quirk back in Marco’s smile, and that was enough for Armin to not try to change the subject. It was obviously cheering him up embarrassing him. “And I hear you two are _hanging out_ today.”

It took Armin a moment to recollect himself, to fight the burning sensation in his cheek and to meet Marco’s suggestive look. _Just because he got laid, and he figures that everyone else is also doing so right and left…_

“Nothing’s going on with me and Annie. We’re just hanging out, that’s all.” 

“Whatever you say,” Marco said as he raised his hands in defeat, but his look told Armin that he had also worked out that it took a terrible liar to know one. He looked up at the clock after that, and realizing that the first clock was about to go off, he turned around to his notebook again. And as he closed the cover of the book, Armin once again stood up to leave. But Marco grabbed hold of him before he could. “Have I told you lately how much I love you, Armin?” 

Meeting Armin’s confused stare, his eyes suddenly widened.

“As a friend!” He quickly added. “I thought that was quite obvious after what I just told you.” But then his eyes slowly drifted up to the ceiling, and Armin could practically see his mind kicking into overdrive. “But maybe it wasn't. But you already knew I was gay! And I’ve told you I love you before. And…”

And Armin could only chuckle weakly as he looked down at the rambling boy.

“I love you too, Marco.”

* * *

Connie had gotten out of psychology _ages _ago when Sasha finally bounded down the entrance steps.__

“Connie!” Her ponytail bounced behind her and her skirt fluttered around her, and she panted as she came to a stop in front of him.

“ _Finally_ , I've waited _forever_ …”

“Yeah, ‘bout that,” she cut him off as she pulled the strap of her bag over her head, making it fall more neatly against her hip. “Change of plans. I’m headin’ home to Mikasa’s, we got a biology assignment due on Friday.” 

“Cool, I’ll tag along.” Grabbing hold of his backpack, he was just about to stand up from the marble landing he had been seated at, when Sasha’s death grip on his shoulders suddenly pushed him down again. Looking up at her in surprise, she was shaking her head vigorously at him.

“Dude, _no_. Mikasa’s like, _the_ most difficult woman in the world to get a hold of. Do ya understand how little time I get to spend with her?” Her eyes were pleadingly on his, and he felt his heart contracting in his chest, unable to disappoint her. She had had him wrapped around her little finger ever since they were small kiddos, and she was painfully aware of it. “This is a solo mission, my young padawan.”

But even though Sasha was smiling at him encouragingly, he couldn't help but slump in her grip, feeling the sting of being replaced. And he who had planned their date for that night so perfectly, all the way down even to the smallest fry. 

“What am I gonna do then?” He asked, just slightly pouty.

“I don’t know?” Releasing her hold of him, she furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. “What ‘bout Jean?”

“He’s got a secret date with Marco.”

“Reiner then?”

“Studying with Bert.”

“Armin?” Just a small amount of concern had crept into her voice, but it was enough to spark a small hope in Connie, a hope that maybe his date night was salvageable after all. 

“Hanging out with the new kid, Annie.” Pausing their bickering for just a moment, he had to ask; “Did you know about them?”

But Sasha just ignored the question as she shook her head, closing her eyes to concentrate better.

“Well, what ‘bout Eren?” She finally asked. “Now that I’m snatchin’ Mikasa, he must be free.”

“Eh…” He didn't have an immediate comeback, and had to furrow his eyebrows hard in thought, but nothing came to mind. And then Sasha’s hands were on top of his head, running down the sides until she had a proper hold of his face, tilting it up so he was forced to watch her smiling down at him knowingly.

“Go hang out with Eren. Sound’s like ya haven’t caught up with him in a while. And I’m sure he doesn't know what he’s doin’ with himself now that he’s alone.”

Connie just sighed in defeat, and Sasha chuckled in victory before leaning over and kissing him on top of his clean shaven head.

“I’ll be thinkin’ of ya though. It’s not like I can fall asleep on the couch while makin’ out with Mikasa.”

“Very funny,” was all he was able to mumble as he grabbed hold of the calloused archer hands that was holding his face.

But Sasha just scrunched her nose at him mischievously.

* * *

Mikasa was just wrapping up her session with some rope jumping.

She enjoyed jumping rope. It was a fairly simple task, and very monotonous if you wanted it to be, and it always managed to clear her head.

And God knew she needed those few moments of utter clarity.

She had too much on her mind those days. Her first tournament was coming up in just a few weeks. She hadn't seen her parents in three weeks, they were just south of nowhere in the middle of Nevada, hopefully digging up some old pot or coin to make their trip worth the while, and she missed them. They had been in school for just about a week and a half, and the amount of homework was already overwhelming. 

_Rap, tap, rap, tap, rap, tap, rap, tap._

The sound of her melodic steps and the rope’s brushing against the canvas was the only thing to be heard in the gym, apart from her heavy breathing and the music playing in the background.

Mikasa usually had the gym local to herself in the afternoons. In the gap in between day and night classes, there weren't many who either wanted to or could train privately. Not to mention that they weren't many members of the gym to start with.

Mikasa’s mom had frowned at her when she was just a little girl, asking if she couldn't go and try out boxing at the local gym, when all other girl’s her age were begging to take ballet classes. But she had come around quickly enough, when she noticed how much Mikasa loved it. And by then her mother was her biggest fan, almost never missing a match.

But Mikasa was a minority at the gym. Not only was she one of few youths, she was one of even fewer women. Boxing was not popular in Trost, and Mikasa knew how Ian, the head of the gym, was struggling to keep it going. And Mikasa had done her fair share of struggling too. She had started her negotiation with principal Smith and the high school years before she had even started her attendance there.

But her struggling had paid off. She was Trost High School’s first, and so far only, boxing student, and the school helped sponsor her competing.

Listening to the rapping of the rope and the tapping of her light footwork, Mikasa closer her eyes in anticipation for the song to end, longing for a long and well earned shower, before collapsing into her bed at home, ignoring all her homework for just _one_ night…

And then the door was kicked in, and Mikasa stopped dead in her tracks, her heart racing in her chest and the rope lashing against her ankles.

“Hey!” Sasha, standing with her hands on her hips in the doorway, looked at Mikasa with a fierce expression. “Hey…” Giggling in time with the recording spilling out of the speakers all around the gym, Sasha started her slow sauntering towards her, as Mikasa could only shake her head in disbelief. “So…” Draping herself over one of the punching bags suspended in the ceiling, Sasha giggled again while never breaking eye contact with Mikasa. “Your love, your love, your love, your love,” and lowering her voice to a dramatic whisper; “Is my drug.” And quickly winking at her, Sasha finished off with; “I like your beard.”

And then she leaned a little too heavily against the punching bag, and lost her balance. Falling down heavy on her ass while whining softly, Mikasa couldn't fight the smile tugging at her lips any longer. Reaching down for the remote to cut off the old Ke$ha album she had used as a workout playlist for as long as she had owned it, Sasha had bounced back up to her feet when Mikasa threw it down again.

“Ya ready?” Smiling up at Mikasa with a ridiculously wide grin, Mikasa couldn't help but furrow her eyebrows.

“For what?”

Sasha saw right through her faked arrogance, but decided to play along, inhaling dramatically while pressing a hand to her chest.

“Don’t tell me ya forgot ‘bout our date.”

“Oh right,” Mikasa drawled as she stepped out from under the ropes. “Eukaryotic cells and genes. I had almost forgotten.”

Jumping down from the ring to stand face to face with Sasha, Mikasa smiled at her boldly.

“Ya wound me woman.” Narrowing her eyes, Sasha tried to fight the smile tugging at her lips. “D’ya know that?”

“And still you stay.”

Patting her lovingly on the cheek, Mikasa grabbed hold of her bag before walking out of the gym, Sasha turning around dramatically to follow her.

“I do.”

* * *

Jean Kirschstein was madly in love with his best friend.

He just couldn't let anyone know about it.

Trost was a peculiar town for many reasons. Because even though a handful of just Jean’s classmates were openly and proudly gay, the town still had a strong conservative population. And the process of coming out had not always been all unicorns and rainbows for the queer youths.

And for years, Jean had watched his friends struggle against the prejudice and hostility of their surroundings, locked away safely in his own closet. So when he had finally come to the realization that he was madly and unconditionally and head over heels in love with Marco Bodt earlier that summer, it had scared the shit out of him.

But Marco had been such a ray of pure light and love and happiness in their first few weeks together, and Jean had been able to shut out the rest of the world. They had lived in their own little world, just the two of them, with nothing and no one standing in their way.

But then school had approached and their friends had closed in on them again, and Jean had been forced to face the real world again. The world where he was the straightest of all straights, the son of a good conservative and christian mother, a world where he was definitely not gay and absolutely not in love with his own male best friend. 

And so Jean had put his feelings towards Marco on heavy lockdown, only letting them glimpse through whenever he was 120% certain they were alone. Jean knew it bothered Marco, the sneaking around and lying to their friends and withholding his emotions. Marco was such an open and loving person, who always felt most at home when he could share his happiness and love with others. And he had begged Jean countless of times to come out of his hiding.

But everything had always been so simple for Marco. He had one of the most ridiculously accepting parents in the galaxy, and _the_ most crazy family in the entire universe. One of his sisters was an aspiring painter travelling around the world, his oldest brother was living in a happy, healthy and polyamorous relationship down in L.A, while his closest brother had just dropped out of college to join a circus. His closest sister was halfway done with her law studies while simultaneously being a semi-successful erotic writer, and his twin brothers drag queens act was a raging success up in Chicago. All of that made his oldest sister, a simple accountant married to another woman with two small children, seem so laughably normal.

And Marco’s warm and loving parents couldn't be more proud of every single one of them.

Jean, on the other hand, had been raised by a single and stressed mother. She had left him home alone to fend for himself for an entire week the first time when he was just twelve, and by then she could be gone entire months without him seeing a glimpse of her. Jean had been told that his mother had never quite been the same ever since his father had died, always dashing about, never quite settling in Trost again. But Jean couldn't really remember another time, seeing how that was all he knew of.

He knew that his mother loved him, that wasn't it. He knew that his mother loved him very dearly, but ever since he had started to seek her attention by playing too loud music, wearing too dark clothes and started to constantly snap back at her, a rift had erupted between them, and none of them had ever really tried to cross it again. And ever since he had stopped going to church with her every Sunday, she had simply avoided the little contact she had previously had with him.

And when Marco, young sweet Marco who she had always been so fond of, had unveiled his controversial sexuality, she had been momentarily horrified. But Marco, being as warm and charming as he had always been, had slowly won her over again, and she had thankfully never protested whenever he had come over to visit Jean.

But those days, Jean was only comfortable inviting him over when his mother was out of town on work.

Chewing on his number 2 pencil as he frowned down at the English assignment below him, Marco’s nose became an irregular bundle of freckles as he scrunched it. And if Jean leaned a certain way, Marco just became a silhouette against the warm afternoon sun seeping in through the kitchen windows. A very handsome silhouette, with the sun rays playing around in his hair, making it look like halo hovered above his handsome face…

Turning around to look at Jean, with a gentle glow in his eyes and a soft smile on his lips, Jean immediately sat up straighter and tried cough his way out of being caught staring, desperately trying to focus on the assignment before him. And seeing the weak flush on Jean’s cheeks, Marco just smiled wider, before realizing that he still had a pencil sticking out between his teeth, and spluttered awkwardly, trying to spit it out.

They were eerily quiet for a moment, before both started to chuckle weakly, laughing at both of their uselessness. Marco pushed a hand through his dark hair as he caught his breath again, eyeing Jean with a fondness he was sure he would never get used to. But then a look of remembrance struck him.

"Yeah, right, that was what I was supposed to ask.” Smiling his lopsided grin, he placed his elbows on the table, leaning closer to Jean. “Have you thought about my offer yet?"

“What?” Dumbstruck by Marco’s sudden question, it took Jean a while to realize what he was talking about. “The photography job?”

"Yeah! The yearbook could really need someone with your talent."

“I don’t know man…” Leaning further away from Marco’s excited smile, Jean started to rub at the back of his neck, a bad habit of his whenever he had to deliver bad news. Sure, he loved photography, but the _yearbook?_ He didn't think so. Not even Marco could convince him to do that.

"Oh, Jean, c'mon!"

Reaching across the table to grab hold of his free hand, Marco tugged at it gently. And Jean’s immediate reaction was to jerk away from his touch. Leaning further into his chair, his heart beating in his ears, Jean watched Marco’s eager smile slowly falter as he retracted. His jaw hanging unhinged, Jean saw him trying to say something, before he gave up and turned his head down, his hurt eyes focusing on the paper below him instead of Jean.

Closing his eyes, Jean mentally slapped himself. They were all on their own, his mom was out of town and weren't scheduled to come back until the end of the week. But he was still not comfortable with Marco touching him. Which made no sense. He wanted nothing more than for Marco to touch him, to kiss him, to run his hands all…

Taking a deep breath, Jean looked up again, ready to apologize, to explain, when something else caught his attention instead.

“Hey, dude. Is that my sweater?”

Marco looked up at him in surprise, before tugging at the sweater he was currently wearing.

“Yeah,” he admitted bashfully, his shoulders rising slightly. “I hope you don’t mind. I kinda stole it after your party.” 

“No!” Jean was maybe just a little bit too eager to answer, as Marco’s eyebrows rose in confusion. “No,” he repeated slower, trying his best to fill his voice with his earnest. “It’s cool.”

And reaching across the table to grab hold of Marco’s hand, he squeezed it reassuringly. Inspecting their clasped hand for a moment, Marco finally met his gaze and smiled softly before intertwining their fingers properly, picking up his pen with his free hand to frown down at the assignment with the adorable scrunching of his nose again.

Jean Kirschtein was madly in love with his best friend, but he couldn't let anyone know. And he managed to convince himself that he was safe back then. Because, he meant, come on. Jean Kirschtein; The _Gay_.

Who would even think that?

* * *

“Judo means ‘the gentle path’, and it requires you to be compliant and non-resistant, in order to turn the opponents actions against themselves. It requires you to give way to the will of others in order to beat them in a controlled and defensive manner. Kanō advocated self control and harmony, and that excitement is of benefit to no one, but rather harmful to oneself and others.”

Armin watched as Annie executed one fluid motion after the other, her white clad limbs floating through the air like falling leaves. 

Annie had invited him to one of her training sessions, and Armin hadn't been late in accepting. He had been staring at her in utter awe for the entire hour he had been sitting at the edge of the vinyl mat she had been performing on. Annie was far from stupid, and she had chosen one of her sessions that didn't involve any actual combat, and she had guided him through the history and philosophy of the martial art, and Armin had been completely hypnotized.

Armin had actually never been inside the local dojo before, and he found it quite fascinating. The fairly large hall was empty except for the two of them, and the setting sun trickled in through the highly placed windows, illuminating the colored squares on the floor with its golden light. The wood paneled walls gave the room a soft tranquility, and Annie’s melodic voice bounded off them gently. 

He didn't know what he had expected that Monday after Jean’s party, and it did surprise him when Annie had sought him out. But somehow she still found him interesting even without half a bottle of tequila in her system, and one thing had led to another and then he had found himself sitting on the floor of the local dojo, watching her as she trained. 

Annie had told him about principal Smith promising her that they would make Judo her extracurricular, and how she was just waiting for him to reach out to her with a confirmation. And even though Armin could tell that she was somewhat doubtful, Armin had no doubts whatsoever. Armin had watched principal Smith pull at strings at both the county and the state and even some nationwide organizations to fund Mikasa’s boxing just a couple of years ago, and he had no doubts he wouldn't be able to do it again for Annie. She just had to be patient and put some faith in him, and Armin was sure everything was going to work out. 

But meanwhile, Annie had reassured him that she was content with just training privately.

“Kanō wanted all of his students to use their judgement, to control their responses and to live on the gentle pathway.” 

Inhaling deeply, Annie planted her naked feet firmly on the mat below them, and seemed to relax slightly, her shoulders sinking and her spine straightening, and she turned around to bow to Armin. It wasn't until she had straightened again and smiled at him gently he realized that it had signified the end of her discourse, and it took him a moment to shake himself out of his reverie.

“Wow,” he finally managed to utter. “I always thought Judo was only about flipping people over your shoulder.”

“Well,” she scoffed as she released her fair locks in order to re-tie them better. “You’re friends with Mikasa aren't you?”

“Yeah.”

“That explains a lot. Boxing is the black sheep of martial arts, because that is literally just about beating the crap out of your opponent.”

“I wouldn't say that to Mikasa’s face if I were you,” he offered carefully, and Annie’s cool eyes inspected him for a moment, before her eyebrows raised in thought.

“Note taken.”

She sat down in front of him then, stretched out her leg to her side and still easily grabbed hold of her own foot. Armin tried not to stare, and awkwardly averted his eyes as she changed position, and fixed his gaze on a weirdly shaped twig mark in the panel next to him, desperately trying to find something to say. He had never had any trouble talking to Annie, but she had done most of the talking that afternoon, and he could feel a blush rising in his cheeks.

“So…” Daring to glance back at Annie, who was by then stretching her arms behind her back and had her gaze fixed on the blue mat below her, Armin tried not to limp on his words. “Are you looking forward to the field trip in a few weeks?”

Sighing as she allowed her arms to fall down into her lap, she looked up at him with a thoughtful expression.

“I…” Her eyes narrowed in confusion, and Armin could make out just the tiniest of wrinkles in between her eyebrows. “Don’t know. Haven’t really thought about it.”

“But you’re going?” Armin asked, and tried to keep the small worry out of his voice.

“Yeah,” she answered him with a gentle smile. “Isn't it mandatory?”

“Yeah, but, I, just…” Feeling himself stumble over his own words, he shut his mouth and forced himself to swallow before he could meet Annie’s confused stare again. “I just thought something like that wouldn't hinder you from not going.”

Realizing what had just spilled out of him, Armin immediately evaded her gaze and stared down at his own hands, and just waited for her to scold at him, to throw him out and to never talk to him again. _How could he have been so stupid?_ Everything was going so great, he really liked Annie, and she seemed to like him too, and so of course he had to go and insinuate that she was some kind of trouble maker… 

And feeling the panic and hopelessness rising in his throat, it surprised him to hear Annie chuckle softly.

“Who knows?” Looking up again, he found her smiling wistfully as she inspected the quickly evanescing daylight seeping into the room. “It might be fun.” Turning around to look at him again, she smiled gently again. “I've never been out ‘hiking’ before.”

“Oh, well, really, it’s nothing spectacular, we’re only going up to Mr. Ackerman’s cottage up in the mountains…” Relief washing over him, his words suddenly just tumbled out of him, and Annie smiled wider as she had to interrupt him.

“I’m a New Yorker, remember? The closest thing I have come to a forest is Central Park.”

“Oh, yeah…” Sheepishly looking down at his hands again, Armin realized that it was maybe just time for him to shut up for that day. But he could still feel Annie’s gentle gaze on him.

“Well, I’m just about done.” Standing up on her naked feet, Annie offered him a hand to help him up, which he awkwardly accepted. “I’ll walk you home?”

“Sounds good.”

* * *

Hesitating just as his fingertip was about to connect with the doorbell of the Jaeger house, Connie froze with his finger sticking out in the in the air.

_This was dumb. Sasha was dumb for suggesting this. He was dumb for going along with it. Eren was probably busy anyway, with homework or soccer preparations or whatever. He should probably just turn around, trudge back home, where Sunny and Martin were currently going at each other’s throats…_

Taking a deep breath and toughening up, Connie raised his fist and knocked instead. His forced confidence was slowly faltering as the long seconds stretched on, and he inspected the dark windows and the seemingly empty house, and he was just about to turn around and leave anyway, when the front door was yanked open.

Eren, his always messy hair sticking out in a million different directions, looked like he had just woken up and had a look of bewilderment in his clear green eyes as he inspected Connie.

“Hi dude,” he finally managed, his voice weak and raspy, and it became painfully clear that Connie had definitely woken him up.

“Hey bro.”

An awkward silence rose between them after that, Eren standing drowsy and confused inside in the warmth and Connie standing awkwardly out in the chill on his front porch. But hearing Sasha’s words echo at the back of his head, Connie cleared his throat before going at it again.

“So,” reaching up a hand to rub at the back of his neck, he allowed his eyes to transfix on the iron 5 on the side of Eren’s house. “I was just wondering if you wanted to hang out.” But forcing his gaze to move, he settled on Eren’s still slightly bewildered eyes. “It’s… It’s been a while.”

“Yeah.” His bewildered eyes suddenly widening in realization, he held Connie’s gaze steadily. “It has.”

And Eren’s shocked expression set Connie’s mind reeling, and he too realized that it really had been _ages_ since they had last hung out just the two of them. He couldn't actually recall the last time. They had both been so caught up in their own lives, Eren with his soccer and Connie with his fencing, and school work and college applications and the rest of their friends and Mikasa and Sasha weren't two easy girls to keep up with…

The look Eren then gave him told Connie that he had finally realized why he had chosen just that particular Wednesday afternoon to catch up, and the tension and awkwardness between them immediately washed away and he stepped aside from the doorway.

“Well, come in dude. I was thinking about getting some Halo hours done, why don’t you join me?”

“Yeah, that sounds cool.”

And just like that, they fell back into their old shitty patterns, ordering too much pizza and talking bullshit as they both got their asses kicked in Halo. And before they knew it, it was well after midnight and they were both going to pay the price the following day. But it was worth it. School was nothing compared to catching up with an old friend.

_And maybe it hadn't been such a dumb idea after all._

* * *

Their biology homework laid discarded behind them in the living room, and Sasha had rummaged through the entire Ackerman pantry in search for the ingredients for her brownie specialty. And Mikasa was currently sneaking small samples from the batch as she rummaged through the entire kitchen in search for a baking pan, not really in a hurry to help her search.

Mikasa never quite understood how Sasha managed to make so goddamn good brownies.

Mikasa and Sasha had always had a simple friendship. Mikasa knew she was bad at expressing it, but she really was grateful for the love and support from the more eccentric girl. But Sasha was just the kind of girlfriend Mikasa needed, constant but independent with a large heart but an even larger appetite for both life and love and, most importantly, food.

Mikasa actually didn't remember how she and Sasha had latched on to each other. She supposed it was through some kind of process of elimination in the end, seeing how Ymir and Christa had only had eyes for each other already as small kids, and Mina had Hitch, and Hannah had never really been interested in anyone else but Franz, and there hadn't been that many more girls in their year that Mikasa had tolerated. And then there was the incident in first grade, when Mikasa had saved Sasha’s lunch from being run over by a truck, and Sasha had worshiped her for over a month.

So even though she could be a little bothersome to deal with from time to time, Mikasa did love Sasha Braus and didn't know what she would do without her.

And cackling manically as she straightened with a baking pan in hand, Mikasa was quick in making it look like her latest loot was just her biting on her nail. And after helping her out with preparing the brownie pan for the oven, Sasha allowed her to lick the remaining batter out of the bowl. So, sitting on top of the kitchen counter with a brownie batter spoon in her mouth, Mikasa watched as Sasha softly hummed to herself as she slowly started cleaning up the mess she had created while baking.

“So…” Scraping at the last remnants of the batter before raising the spoon to her lips again, Mikasa interrupted Sasha’s soft humming. “Have you started looking into colleges yet?”

“Ya kiddin’ me?” Sasha chuckled quickly as she screwed the top of the sugar jar on. “By now, I don’t know what I’ll do if I don’t get into CCSU.”

Licking at the very last remains of the batter off her spoon, Mikasa furrowed her brow in thought.

“That’s the one with the good archery team, right?” At last licked completely clean from any remaining chocolate batter, Mikasa threw the bowl and spoon into sink next to her.

“ _Yeah_ ,” Sasha confirmed as she shielded herself from the splashing dishwater. “And it’s just about a two hour drive from Boston.”

“Connie’s still set on going there?”

“Ya _are_ kiddin’ me.” Sasha pulled a dramatic face before paying back for Mikasa’s inconsiderate disposal of the bowl and splashed some dirty dishwater in her direction. Frowning as the cold and unhygienic water speckled her face, Sasha just laughed at her quickly. “He can’t wait. Boston got one of the best fencin’ teams of the entire country, and ya know he’s got a thing for the east coast.”

“Don’t you think it’ll be hard?” Mikasa inquired as she dried some of the water off with the sleeve of her shirt. “Being so far away from each other?”

“Nah,” Sasha shrugged as she returned to her tidying. “Like I said, it’s just a two hour drive. And if we play our cards right, we might be able to get an apartment…”

Mikasa felt her jaw drop as she listened to the other girl. Sasha had always put a lot of effort into seeming carefree, and she was spontaneous and unpredictable. And deep down they all knew that she and Connie would someday end up as an old married couple with a bunch of just as energetic and excited grand kids and a dozen of stray dogs on a rundown porch someday. But it still surprised Mikasa to hear that Sasha herself had actually thought that so far ahead herself. And that there actually seemed to exist a plan for the Braus & Springer future.

“Oh my god. You really are planing to die next to that boy.”

Looking up at her in surprise, she eventually smiled broadly.

“Well… Yeah.”

Chuckling in amusement at her friends apparent oblivion, Mikasa jumped down from the kitchen counter to help her clean up.

“Well, kudos to you my friend. I wouldn't be able to handle it. Kudos to you.”

“But…” Handing Mikasa the bowl that she had just washed to dry, she narrowed her eyes in confusion. “Aren't ya still set on followin’ Eren to USAFA?”

The bowl almost slipped out of Mikasa’s hands as she fought the blush rushing to her cheeks.

“It’s not like that,” she was to quick to defend herself, and she swallowed as she met Sasha’s painfully innocent gaze. “You _know_ that.” Regaining some of her confidence, she narrowed her eyes at Sasha, who finally raised her hands in defeat. But Mikasa continued her defense anyway. “Eren’s like a brother to me. And _someone_ has to follow him to keep him out of trouble, and Armin’s on his very good way of getting into Harvard.”

“They don’t have female boxin’ there, do they?” Handing her a spoon to dry as a sort of peace offering, Mikasa was glad that she dropped the subject so quickly. Did she mention that she really _did_ love Sasha Braus?

“No,” Mikasa admitted, but she offered Sasha her best mischievous smile. “But neither did Trost High School a few years ago.”

Sasha chuckled softly, and they continued their work in silence after that. And after a while, Mikasa noticed how Sasha’s expression turned pensive as she scrubbed at a plate for several minutes after it was clean. She was just about to ask what she was thinking when Sasha herself beat her to it.

“But ya never know…” She muttered quietly at the plate. “Everythin’ can change so fast.” And looking up at Mikasa’s confused expression, she elaborated. “We all thought that Mina and Paige was gonna last forever…”

“Nah, I wasn't so sure,” Mikasa shrugged as she grabbed the almost scrubbed through plate, and raised her eyebrows at Sasha’s surprised stare. “What? Paige always seemed sketchy to me. I hope Mina goes for a boy this time.”

“Are ya turnin’ homophobic?” Sasha set down the dish brush to face Mikasa again, and she was glad to see that there was an amused glint to her grin again. “What’s next, ya’ll say that Christa and Ymir aren't meant to be?”

“Oh, like you haven’t noticed how we’re like the only straight people around.” Sighing at Sasha’s suggestive glance, she had to fight the urge to roll her eyes. “I mean, Ymir and Christa, Reiner and Bertholdt, Marco, _Jean_ …”

“Jean?” Sasha repeated incredulously. “ _Really?_ ”

“Yeah, _really_ ,” she snapped back as she flicked her dish towel in Sasha’s direction. “Haven’t you noticed? Why do you think he still insist that he has a crush on me? And have you seen him together with Marco lately? _Something_ happened there.”

Sasha just stared at her for a moment, her jaw hanging open and her hands dripping dirty dish water onto the floor. But then her lips cracked into the grin so wide that it almost reached her eyes, and she chuckled soundlessly. 

“Oh my god, Mikasa. I never thought of ya as the relationship expert.”

“Says the girl who fell in love with Connie Springer.”

“Oh, shut up.” Blushing softly, Sasha turned around to check on the brownies in the oven, and Mikasa cleaned up some flour from the counter. 

But as Sasha set the brownie pan down at the by then tidied kitchen counter, she turned around to face Mikasa again as she removed the oven mitts from her hands.

“But, really. Jean Kirschtein; _The Gay_.” Sasha stared out into the distance while making a sweeping gesture with the multicolored mitts to demonstrate the sensation of the whole ordeal, before slapping at Mikasa’s hand with one of them for reaching out to the brownies. “Who would've thought.”

Sasha held her gaze for a total of 1.8 seconds before they both started laughing again. And then Sasha cut into the still somewhat oven hot cake for them to share, and the two girls continued their carefree gossiping well into the night, while completely ignoring their discarded biology homework.

Sasha and Mikasa had always had a simple friendship. And it was one of the relationship Mikasa valued most profoundly.

* * *

“Erwin, we don’t have the money…”

“Then we’ll get the money!”

“It’s not just that simple…”

“What do you want me to do then? Just give up on her? Not an option.”

Erwin and Mike were fighting again. Levi had gotten quite used to that in those few weeks. 

Mike sounded despairing and tired, and Erwin was agitated and on edge. That had been the case for several weeks by then, ever since the issue had first been brought up. Levi hadn't payed the whole ordeal that much attention, trusting the principal and vice to work it out on their own. But if they wouldn't work it out soon, he would probably _have_ to intervene.

So when he walked into Erwin’s office, not really rude, seeing how the door had stood wide open and their arguing had spilled out into the reception, both Erwin and Mike turned around to face him in confusion. Mike inhaled sharply, his tall frame rising even taller, but meeting Levi’s hard stare, he thought better of it, and just raised his hands in defeat before storming out.

Erwin’s chest fell as he seemed to release a breath he had been holding before he pushed a slender hand through his already messy hair.

“Rough day?” Levi inquired as he sauntered over to Erwin's poorly hidden whiskey collection.

“Yeah,” he sighed as he collapsed into his leather chair and took a few deep breaths before looking up at him. “You?”

“Horrendous.” Opening up the cabinet in the corner of the room, Levi pulled out his favorite bottle of Bowmore's and poured himself a bounteous glass.

“Yeah?” Raising a prominent eyebrow in question, Erwin watched as Levi made his way over to the other side of the small room, flinging himself onto the old and worn leather couch. Taking a sip from his glass of whiskey before draping an arm across his tired eyes, Levi sighed exasperatedly.

“Jaeger claimed his dog, which I know for a fact that he does not own, ate his paper. For Braus it was the horse, and Springer blamed his brother.”

Levi could almost _hear_ Erwin’s grin from the other side of the room, and if he hadn't been so tired he would have scolded him for encouraging misbehavior in his students.

“At least Sasha and Connie had some imagination.”

Levi uncovered one eye just in time to see Erwin rise from his seat behind his desk, and watched him make his way across the room. Stopping just above Levi, he frowned down at him as he took another sip of whiskey.

“It’s only Wednesday,” he pleaded as he knelt down next to him.

“Fuck Wednesdays.”

“That can be arranged,” Erwin smirked smugly as he pushed away some astray dark locks from Levi’s forehead, before frowning disapprovingly at the glass in his hand again. “But I’m not _that_ fond of whiskey breath.”

And Levi just grumbled miserably as Erwin leaned over to press a gentle kiss to his exposed forehead.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kudos to Sasha.
> 
> Give Sasha kudos.
> 
> And some news! This is actually uploaded a day early, because as you are reading this, I am either preparing for my trip to Turkey, or I’m already there. And seeing how I take vacation when I’m on vacation, I’m not going to be writing that much. Which means that there’s not going to be an update next week. Which means that my schedule will be pushed forward a week, which means that I won’t catch up until my planned free week in November, which means that my Halloween chapter will be a week late. Which mostly means that **a)** no update next week and **b)** I will be out of phase for the Halloween chapter. Which is not that big of a deal, but a little sad. But I’ve been looking forward to this trip for a while now, but didn’t consider it while I did my schedule, so I really only got myself to blame. But that’s it I think. I’ll be looking forward to seeing you all in two week. 
> 
> **UPDATE.** Edited. The new chapter will hopefully be up tomorrow, but after all this time, I'm not making any promises.
> 
> And yeah, I can’t believe it took me this long to write out of Eren’s perspective.
> 
> The amount of time I put into each character’s perspective is going to be very unevenly divided from time to time, depending on what the plot focuses on. But I promise that every character has its own story arc that I will follow. 
> 
> This is really just pointless scenes that sets the base for the rest of the story, which is actually the case with the three previous chapters too. But if you have made it this far, I congratulate you, because now is when the plot is really kicking off. And I enjoy writing pointless scenes, that’s my guilty pleasure, so there’s going to be a lot of pointless scenes in this. But there’s going to be plot too. I hope.
> 
> Anyhow; Enjoy!


	5. Mountain sound

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You never know what magic and wonder the mountains can hold.
> 
> Or;
> 
> In which Annie heads out into the forest for the first time, Jean is grumpy, Mikasa becomes sentimental, Armin falls in love and Connie is a sleepy fool.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _“Hold your horses now_   
>  _(Sleep until the sun goes down)_   
>  _Through the woods we ran_   
>  _(Deep into the mountain sound)_   
>  _Hold your horses now_   
>  _(Sleep until the sun goes down)_   
>  _Through the woods we ran”_   
>  **\- Of Monsters and Men, “Mountain sound”**

The sounds and movements of the mountains always had a way of bringing us all together again.

* * *

A quick thunderstorm that had rolled over town a couple of weeks earlier had finally broken the summer heat, and the September air was cool and crisp up in the mountains. The leaves was slowly changing from its deep green to tender gold and bold red, and it gave the forest a whole new life. The sun leaked through the tree ceiling above them and spotted the forest floor with its light. There was a serenity to the woods, as all its inhabitants were peacefully preparing for the winter. 

And Annie had never been that far from civilization.

She had told Armin that she was looking forward going on that field trip. But with just a week left, she had almost backed out. The thought of spending an entire weekend together with the rest of her year’s graduates up in the mountains, completely shut off from the rest of the world, finally caught up with her, and she freaked out. But Mina had probably been able to read her like an open book, as she, without a word, came over to Annie’s house the night before the trip and helped her sort out her packing and reassured her that everything was going to be fine. And then she had picked her up earlier that morning, driving to pick her up first on the other side of town, before picking up the rest of her friends.

She sat in the front seat of Mina’s car, Mina’s driving gentle and melodic even on the bumpy mountain road. Hitch and her somewhat-boyfriend Marlowe sat in the backseat, and their constant bickering was nearly driving Annie mad. Just the drive out of Trost and to the foot of the Utgard mountain had taken two hours, and in that time, they had both had time to fight over whether or not they were going to skip the teacher lead activities once up on the mountain, make up with some kisses, and started arguing again over _something_. Annie had long ago tried to tune them out, but found that it was impossible, and was instead slowly beating her head against the shaking car window. Mina tried to smile at her encouragingly from her seat behind the wheel, but Annie could see the weariness in her eyes too.

“It’s not far now,” Mina said as they drove over another brow, and her voice held more relief than encouragement, and Annie could see how she stepped a little harder on the gas.

After they passed the brow, Annie could see the change of setting. The wall of trees thinned out beside them, and the forest road evened out its monstrous ascending as the ground grew starker below them. Annie could see the summit of the mountain again, much closer than when they had started their drive up into the forest, but still ridiculously high up in the sky. 

The summit of the Utgard mountain was the reason behind their field trip. Apparently, all years of Trost High School visited the Utgard mountain every year, and did different field studies depending on what year they were in. And seeing how Annie and company were all juniors, they were supposed to hike all the way up to the stony top of Utgard mountain, to make several geological observations.

And seeing how Mr. Ackerman had a sizable cabin up in the Giant forest, the 104’s had planned to stay the night up in the woods.

Mina drove through another dangerously narrow curve, and then they could finally make out the sturdy silhouette of the gigantic log cabin. The house was braided out of bare logs, intertwined into one another, rising two stories tall in between the still considerably taller pines and spruces, before it was cut off from the clear mountain air by a roof made out of grass. The small grove between the cabin and the road leading up to it was full of the various cars the students had used to drive up the mountain, and Mina managed to park in between a rusty and rickety pickup truck and a considerably fancier Volvo. 

The moment the wheels on Mina’s Hyundai came to a gentle stop, Hitch and Marlowe thankfully threw their doors open and walked out to continue their bickering among the youths running all around the wooden cabin. Annie stayed behind, leaning further back into the seat and savoring the small moment of silence as she inspected the scene in front of her. 

The students seemed to have made it up the mountain before the caravan of teachers, seeing how there was pure chaos out there. But the cabin was apparently still somehow unlocked, as people were milling in and out of the front door, carrying various objects left and right. Annie caught sight of Armin, walking next to Mikasa as usual, but what really caught her eye was the sight of his always messy hair tied back in an even messier ponytail at the back of his neck. And she couldn't help but smile, seeing how his bangs was still falling into his eyes, and he still had to brush them aside every time he looked up. He and Mikasa were both dressed in the same type of gear as herself and Mina, sturdy hiking boots that was already giving Annie sore feet, and clothes more or less fitted for outdoor activities. She watched as Eren ran past the hood of Mina’s car, with a what seemed like a washcloth in hand and his cheeks all red from shouting.

The sun was slowly setting behind the treeline, and Annie could almost smell the freshness of mountain air over the smell of the car and the fumes. She took a deep breath as she tried to sort out all of the impressions, and she looked over at Mina who was smiling at her gently as she removed the key from the ignition. 

“You ready?”

Annie looked over at Armin again, who seemed to have caught sight of her even from way over at the other side of the grove, and who was then smiling at her brightly, before she nodded carefully before releasing the breath she hadn't realized she had held.

* * *

“Daz, I swear to Allah, if you don’t get that back here…” 

Eren’s threat was left hanging in the air as he and Daz rounded the corner of the cabin, and disappeared out of hearing range. Jean couldn't resist to roll his eyes. Eren had been running around like an angry mother hen all day, trying to make sure no one touched anything or soiled the pedantically cleaned cabin. And seeing how he had to deal with almost 40 teenagers all high on thin mountain air and a sense of liberation, he wasn't really succeeding.

Jean had never really understood why Eren had always been so intent on keeping the Ackerman cabin spotless. Like, it was Mikasa that was the other Ackerman, and it was she that had brought the key that had let them all in, but it was still Eren that was running around like an angered hen, chasing them all back and forth.

Sighing as he threw down his backpack onto the front porch, he supposed he was never going to understand any of those maniacs. He had watched Mikasa walk around to the back of the cabin, swinging an alarmingly sharp ax in her supple hands, Armin was walking around with a piece of paper in hand, turning it back and forth while directing different people in various different directions, and Jean hadn't seen Marco ever since they had stepped out of their car earlier that morning. Reiner had helped in removing a fallen tree log that had been in the way of their parking while Bertholdt had silently helped everyone unpack their cars. And Jean didn't even want to think where Ymir and Christa could have possibly have snuck off to. So as he turned around to face them all, he could feel the weariness wearing at him.

Jean had never really been a fan of their field trips up Utgard mountain. He always felt best locked away in his own room, in his own carefully regulated temperature, surrounded by his favorite music and favorite paints. Not squeezed into a rustic wooden cabin, cut of from civilization and technology, where he was forced to share a bedroom with his rowdy classmates, a room that would be a fiery pit of hell in the evening, only to shift into something straight out of Antarctic in the morning. Not to mention that they would actually have to go out hiking, listening to Shadis go on and on about the fauna of the forest and the history of the mountain…

Walking down from the porch, he walked out into the sea of his peers in search of someone to whine to. He was really searching for Marco’s freckled cheeks and wisp of dark hair, when his eyes caught on the flying dark haired mane and accompanying clean shaved scalp of two of his other friends, and he decided to join them instead.

Sasha and Connie were in the process of slowly unpacking the trunk of Sasha’s dad’s ancient pickup truck. The crappy piece of rust was slowly eroding away and falling to pieces. But Sasha was fiercely protective of it, and ever since Jean had mentioned it earlier that summer as she had started driving it on her own, they had all learned the hard way, Jean harder than the rest of them, to not bring it up. So they all just let her continue driving it, hoping it wouldn't injure her too much when it finally broke down on her.

Walking up to the dynamic duo just as Sasha slung her quiver across her back, and as Connie threw down a burlap sack to the ground with a loud thump, Jean paused momentarily to inspect the trunk still overflowing with packing.

“Hey, Braus, what’s with all the _junk?_ ” Jean watched in suspicion as Connie made his way through the ridiculous amount of canned food and the gigantic heap of different cloth all stuffed together in the corner.

“Dude.” Sasha turned on him after she had reached over to grab hold of her bow, and she shook her head at him slowly. “Don’t.”

“What? Just what can you possibly have in there?” Jean challenged as he turned around again to try and make out anything from the mess. Sasha and Connie were both outdoor persons, and had been out hiking on their own back when the rest of them had just tried to figure out the safest way to cross the road. So Jean had figured that if anyone would know what they were all doing, it would be the two of them. But inspecting all the crap that they had transported for over 100 miles, he quickly lost faith in them.

But Sasha just fixed her soft brown eyes on him before frowning softly.

“Okay.” Turning her back on him, she climbed on top of the car’s hood, and called on the attention of everyone in their vicinity with a sharp wolf-whistle. Jean just stared at her in surprise, while Connie probably couldn't care less, as he just continued his unpacking of the truck, carefully pulling out a box of God know’s what and carried it over to the cabin. Sasha, having caught the attention of most of those milling around, let her gaze sweep over them before she spoke up again. “Just how many here have yer own toilet paper?”

You could see how Sasha’s question froze everyone into place as they pondered over it, and it was just Eren, Mikasa and Armin who raised their hands. Sasha just smirked knowingly before bowing more gracefully than Jean had ever thought her capable of. 

“Y’all can thank me later.” Hopping down from the hood, she joined Connie who had just returned from his round to the porch. The crowd quickly dissipated, everyone walking off to do whatever it was they had done before Sasha had called on their attention. But Jean wasn't ready to fully let the subject go yet.

“Why isn't that Mr. Ackerman’s task? I mean, it’s his cottage after all,” he insisted, even though Sasha obviously ignored him, staying considerably more focused on the canned food still in the truck.

“Yeah, well, the cottage doesn't have a bathroom,” Mikasa offered as she gently shifted her hold on the stack of firewood she was carrying. Her voice was far too indifferent for Jean’s taste, as if that fact didn't bother her in the slightest, and he quickly turned to face her.

“What?”

“But it does have nearly 40 beds and a kitchen, so I don’t think we really have a right to complain.” Mikasa stared deep into him with her dark eyes, and Jean had to fight the sudden emotions struggling to rise in his cheeks. 

He was disappointed that the cottage didn't have a bathroom. He had not prepared for going about his business in the woods for over 48 hours, and that realization had been a brutal one. But he was also uncomfortable being around Mikasa again. They hadn't really talked ever since his pathetic attempt to flirt with her at his party almost a month earlier. When he had woken up the morning after, with the worst hangover of his life and with Marco’s strong and freckled arms around him, the drunken conversation coming reeling back to him as he hunched over the toilet, he had vowed to stay out of her way for the rest of the year.

And she just shrugged indifferently at Jean’s burning face, before turning around to carry the firewood over to the fireplace.

Mikasa Ackerman was a very beautiful girl. She had all of her mother’s delicacy, from the raven hair and eyes to the sharp facial structure, softly slanted eyes and pale complexion. But she was all about her father’s unpolished staunchness, brutally honest and loyal, and she was simply put one of the strongest individuals Jean had ever known. And somewhere, he had confused his respect and admiration for her with love. He wasn't even sure if it had been so much confusion rather than him convincing himself that it must have been love. The point was, he had messed up their relation really badly that night, and he had no idea of how to repair it again.

Sasha smacked him out of his reverie, patting him forcefully on the back as she walked past him.

“And don’t worry, I’m chargin’ the school.”

Following Mikasa across the grove, carrying the enormous burlap sack of toilet paper, Connie hot on her heels with the box of canned food, Jean watched as they made their way into the house. 

He was left alone once again, and scanned the crowd in desperate search for Marco. They had just arrived, so he couldn't have gotten lost already… Jean watched all of his peers running back and forth, Hitch hitching a ride on Marlowe’s back as they chased Mylius, Armin standing looking up at the Utgard mountain while turning the piece of paper in his hands, Mina laughing gaily with Bertholdt and Reiner as they tried to prepare the campfire…

He almost jumped at the sudden sound of wood snapping sharply. Letting his gaze fly to the source of the sound, he just had time to make out Thomas fair head disappearing in between the trees.

“Wagner!” Eren, his usually messy hair slicked back along his scalp thanks to the excessive sweat running down his burning cheeks, picked up what looked like the two ends of a broom from the leaf scattered dirt. As he turned his head in the direction that Thomas had disappeared, there was murder in his startling green eyes. “Get back here!”

But just as he was about to go after him, the sound of heavy wheels slowly making their way up the gravel road filled the grove, and just as Jean turned around, the sleek jeep came to a halt on their make-do parking lot. The movement in and around both the grove and the cabin slowed down as a couple of more cars pulled up behind the jeep, and the door’s of the jeep were swung open. Mike and Nanaba stepped out of the backseat first, quickly followed by the driving Erwin. Mr. Ackerman stepped out last, almost having to jump down from the high seat, but landing gracefully before he brushed something off from his cargo pants.

“Jaeger, drop my broom.” Mr. Ackerman didn't even look up, but Eren’s eyes widened immediately and he turned a sickly shade of pale as he promptly did as he was told. Jean didn't realize until then just how eerily silent it had suddenly become, and the soft thump of the two pieces of wood falling to the ground was audible to them all.

“Would you believe me if I told you that it wasn't me?” Eren tried carefully as he shot a dirty look into the part of the forest where Thomas had run off to.

“No,” Mr. Ackerman said as he finally turned up his gaze to look at Eren. His voice was scarily calm, and his gray eyes brewed like a storm just about to break out, and Jean could see Eren gulp. But then Mr. Ackerman’s gaze left Eren to fly over the rest of the students, and his face fell into his regular frown. “Everyone, drop my belongings.”

The clatter of various object being dropped to the ground, everything from pillows to books, filled the grove, and the collective expression of embarrassment and shame came upon most of the students. A particularly loud thud was heard from just the side of Jean, and he glanced over to see a gigantic cast iron pan lying at Connie’s feet. Bashfulness was quickly rising in his face, but Sasha was quick in leaning over to reassure him.

“Connie. That’s ours.”

“Oh!” Quickly bending down to pick up the frying pan again, Connie grinned as he straightened, because at least _he_ didn't mess with Mr. Ackerman’s stuff. 

Mr. Ackeram himself just sighed before he ran a hand over his face and inspected the disordered youths again.

“Okay, here’s what we’re going to do. Braus, check if the provisions are still intact. Arlert, I need you to…”

Armin ran off to do whatever he had been told to do just as Erd and Günter stepped out of their car, and Shadis, Oluo and Petra came to lend Erwin a hand in unpacking the trunk of the jeep. Mr. Ackerman, on the other hand, just continued to delegate tasks left and right, and Jean rolled his eyes as he got ordered to start the fireplace.

They had only just arrived up in the mountains, but Jean already longed to get back down again.

* * *

A wave of nostalgia crashed down on Mikasa as she strolled about the fragrant wooden cabin.

The mountain cabin was an Ackerman relic, and had been passed down in the family for as long as they had been situated in the states. Levi was the current proprietor, and he had managed to clean up the place admirably. Mikasa still remembered the state the property had been in back before Levi’s father had passed it down to him, even though she had just been a little girl back then. The wooden logs had been rotten, what should have been a green roof was a moldering brown, withered and leaking, and what must have been once hand carved window sills had been broken and beaten in, the window glass that it had previously held laying scattered in pieces on the ground. The land that the cabin was situated on had managed to become overgrown, even on the barren soil. Mr. Ackerman senior had not been a very good proprietor, and had allowed the place to crumble in on itself.

But seeing the family heritage slowly disintegrating, Mikasa’s own father had somehow convinced him to hand it down to Levi instead. And Levi, even though he had only been in his early twenties back then, had made the place flourish again.

Mikasa and Levi had always had a peculiar relationship. The Ackerman’s was a prideful family, who had always sought out to stand up for one another. But both Mikasa and Levi came from branches of the family far from the trunk, branches that had sought out their own ways, who proudly carried the family name, but was slightly disconnected from the family roots. And seeing how they had both taken to the family traits of being headstrong, self-reliant and reserved, there hadn't really been room for that much love to grow between the two kindred. But they had always shared a mutual respect for one another, and Mikasa had always admired him for treating her as an equal, despite their age difference.

And Mikasa had spent several summers up at the cabin with Levi, and had often brought along Eren and even Armin. Mikasa adored the serenity of the mountains, Eren liked the spaciousness and Armin was very fond of the feeling of liberation that all of it brought. But Eren had already on their first visit gotten off on the wrong foot, breaking an ancient tea set by accidentally kicking the three legged coffee table it had been situated on with a boot caked in mud after having been out playing in a thunderstorm, just as Levi had finished his daily cleaning session. He had been painfully cautious around the cabin ever since.

And she would never forget the first time Levi had brought Erwin up to Utgard. She had somehow always noticed his lack of interest in women already as a small girl, but it still came as a shock when he had brought the considerable taller, blond and charming, back then assistant principal, to the mountain fortress. But over the years, Mr. Smith had become an unquestionable addition to the Ackerman cabin, and he had brought laughter and jolliness into the timbered walls.

All of this came rushing back to Mikasa as she walked among her classmates, watching them turning in and out of their packing, trying to settle for the night. The rush of unauthorized freedom had left most of them, and many of them were just looking forward to sundown and a long night of proper sleep before their hike up the mountain top in the morning. And feeling the tiredness weighing on her own eyelids, she was just about to go out and see how Sasha and the rest were getting along with the supper, when something else called on her attention.

“Mikasa!” Turning around in surprise at the sound of her own name, she found Levi himself standing at the cabin entrance. Nodding softly out the door, Mikasa walked up to him and followed him out onto the porch. The evening was chilly, and she mentally chided herself for not bringing her scarf with her. Watching Sasha, Connie and Jean over at the fireplace, laughing as they flipped burgers on the grill grates, she wished she could join them over at the warmth. But she had to settle on gently wrapping her arms around herself as she looked down at Levi again. “Status rapport.”

Mikasa inhaled sharply as her fingers dug into her sides softly. She and Levi had always shared a mutual respect for each other, and he had therefore never doubted before putting responsibility on her. She admired him for that, because that meant he trusted her leadership and capability. But at that time she had failed him, she had allowed the situation to get a little too far out of hand. But she also knew that he had already scrutinized the damages made on her watch, and was then looking at the situation at hand. So breathing out calmly, she told him the truth.

“Everything looks fine, considering the circumstances.”

Levi’s eyes narrowed quickly over his dark irises.

“I trusted you to keep everyone in check.”

The reprimand stung, but Mikasa accepted it without protest, because she already knew that she had failed. So meeting his cool gaze levelly, she just continued with her truth.

“I did my best.”

There was a short pause then, as Levi’s dark eyes looked deeply into hers. Mikasa could hear the creaking of the forest and the groaning of the mountain over her friends laughter as Levi stared deeply into her, his eyes hard and sharp against her own. But just as she was about to cringe under his gaze, it softened, and she noticed herself relaxing. Levi could be ferocious when he wanted to, but he was far from merciless.

“I know you did,” he sighed as he carefully pushed a pale hand through his dark hair. “It was foolish of me to think that even you could keep these _qliphoth_ from rascality.” Shaking his head as his gaze slowly drifted over to the place where Erwin and the others were all laughing heartily, a small smile crept upon his lips before he addressed her again. “Anything else?”

“Well, the weather’s supposed to hold,” she said as she looked up at the slowly darkening sky. It had been a cloudy day, but the clouds just held the soft gray of indifference, and not the dark promises of rain. The cloudy comforter separating them from the sun hadn't offered them any excess warmth during the day, but it would hold the small amount of warmth they had over night. “And both Sasha and Connie, Hanna and Franz and Tom and Lydia are planning to sleep outside, so we have just enough beds.”

Levi gave her a quick look.

“There’s not going to be any funny business I hope.”

“Connie and Sasha didn't even bring a tent, so I don’t think so.” Not being able to contain her smile anymore, she grinned softly at him, but it was quickly wiped away by his raised eyebrows. “But I can’t make any promises for the other four.”

“Great.” Letting his face fall into the deadpan expression to match his lifeless voice, Mikasa could see the highway of his racing thoughts through his eyes. She had always believed that the reason he kept his eyes so guarded was because they were so expressive otherwise, and that it was a weakness he couldn't allow just anyone to see. And she was just about to ask him something, anything really, as he looked back up at her, his eyes cool and shut off from the mind spinning inside his head. “Well, you run along and see how the supper group are doing, and I’ll deal with the bedroom sorting.”

Waving her off the porch, she didn't protest.

“Yes sir.”

Watching him walk into the cabin again, Mikasa stood on the porch for a while, lost in thought, before Sasha called her over to the warm fireplace.

Levi Ackerman was a complicated man. And she supposed her relationship with him would therefore also always be complicated.

* * *

Armin sat atop of the green roof, feeling the withering straws in between his fingers. The sky was pitch black above them then, the clouds concealing the stars, just barely letting the weak moonlight slip through. He wished he could view the stars, but he contentedly settled in just watching the endeavors below him.

Eren had offered Mikasa his jacket earlier that evening, and she sat with it tightly wrapped around her as she held her hands closely over the fireplace, buoyantly laughing with Reiner and Bertholdt. Eren himself was cautiously tiptoeing around the premises, as if afraid that one false step would shatter the very mountain to its core. Sasha and Connie had bundled themselves into round packages of blankets and comforters, determined to sleep outside beneath the veiled stars despite the dropping temperatures, and Armin noticed how Connie struggled to crawl closer to the fireplace with Sasha snoring heavily on his shoulder. Jean and Marco, on the other hand, sat as far away from each other as they could come while still sitting around the circular hearth. Armin frowned for a moment, before Marco’s words from a few weeks earlier rolled through his head, and he let it go. What Marco had told him had surprised him, but the more he had thought about it, the more sense it made, and he had decided to not get himself involved in the matter. He trusted Marco’s judgement to handle the situation. 

Mike and Nanaba was still busy cleaning up after dinner, and Erd and Günter was suspiciously passing something back and forth between them from their place by the edge of the forest. Petra had forced Aurou into bed before the sky had even darkened, and Shadis had ignored Erwin’s protests and headed out to scout the mountain top with just a flashlight and a bottle of what he had told them was water right after they had all finished eating. They were still waiting for him to return, but Armin had no doubt that he would sooner or later.

But no one had really seen Christa and Ymir ever since they had made it up to the cabin, and no one was really comfortable asking where they could possibly be.

Softly pulling at the yellowing grass straws, Armin took a deep breath of the chilly mountain air and felt the tension leave both his muscles and his mind. The cabin rooftop had always been Armin’s place. It had always been his quiet place to sneak off to whenever he needed time alone back when he used to come up to the mountains with Mikasa and Eren. His friends had never questioned him, and had just turned their blind eyes to him whenever they realized that he needed his alone time. But Armin remembered that one time when he had accidentally fallen asleep on the roof, and Levi had been forced to carry him down, only to scold him the morning after, elaborately explaining the dangers of his habit. And as Levi had turned on his friends to question them if they knew about his ventures, they had faithfully kept to their handmade oblivion, both violently shaking their heads under Levi’s angry stare. Levi had given up by then, thrown his hands up in the air and muttered something about “ungrateful brats” as he stalked off.

Armin would always remember that as the first time he realized just how deeply his friends truly cared for him, and how much he loved them in return.

They couldn't have been more than 8 years old back then.

Watching as a small tear in the cloud cover allowed the moon to brightly shine down on them all for a moment as Connie finally shifted far enough to send Sasha crashing to the leaf covered soil, cursing and spluttering furiously and sleepily as the rest of their friends laughed at her merrily, Armin was content. The weak sough in the trees behind him, the fresh air all around him and the sturdy terrain below him had always had a way of lulling his soul into serenity. And seeing the same things in his friends, all of them laughing joyfully and without a care in the world, warmed his heart even more.

But a sharp nudge of forgetfulness cut through his contentment, and he sat up straighter as he remembered. He scanned his surroundings for the fair haired individual that he hadn’t seen since they had all arrived earlier that day, and who he had ached to catch up with the entire day, but had been too busy helping first Mikasa and later Levi putting everything in order to actually been able to. But as she was nowhere to be found, Armin slumped back in his seat in defeat, and made a mental note, that he would not allow himself to forget, that he would seek her out the first thing in the morning…

“Hey.”

Armin jumped as the raspy voice of just the person he had been thinking of came from behind him. Turning around, he saw her standing against the dark line of trees behind them, her face just barely illuminated by the pale moonlight, and he couldn't fight the small smile curling at his lips.

“Hi.”

Annie sat down next to him on the grass, pulling her knees up to her chest and tucking her hands into the hollows of her knees. Her hair was tied back in her regular messy bun at the nape of her neck, and her silhouette was sharp and beautiful against the dark night. Her eyes were focused on the scene below them, and even just saying hi to her had made the contentment settle over Armin again, and he was glad to just spend the rest of the cloudy evening in silence by her side. But then she turned her gaze to him again, and there was an inquisitive sparkle to her light eyes as she spoke.

“I just saw principal Smith very unsubtly sneak into Mr. Ackerman’s bedroom.”

“Oh.” Nodding softly at her as he took in that fairly commonplace information, he didn't think much about it. That was, until Annie quirked one of her eyebrows, and he suddenly had to pray that the dark night would conceal the flush rising in his cheeks. “ _Oh_. Right. No one told you?”

“That the principal is screwing the English teacher?” A soft smile curved her lips and there was amusement in her voice. “No, somehow that must have slipped everyone’s minds.”

“It’s not just screwing,” Armin was too quick to defend them, and he could feel his cheeks burning hotter. He couldn't believe he was actually justifying those two old men in front of her, but he felt like he owned them that, after all they had both done for him. So fighting down his flush and the eagerness in his voice, he forced himself to meet Annie’s eyes again before he continued. “I mean, physical. Or, whatever.” Pausing quickly to shake his head in order to start anew, Annie just continued to stare at him quizzically. “Mr. Ackerman’s Jewish, remember? And, well, homosexuality and Judaism is a complicated combo.”

“So they’re sneaking around?” There was no spite in Annie’s voice, just genuine curiosity, and Armin couldn't help but to smile at it.

“Not exactly. As you noticed, they’re not very subtle about it. But they’re not really official either.” Pausing as he saw the slightly confused expression on Annie’s face, he settled on telling her the strategy they had all used to come to terms with their queer relationship. “It’s complicated. Better to not think too much about it.”

“I’d rather not,” she chuckled weakly before she let her gaze drift down to the scene below them.

Franz and Hannah seemed to have finally been able to put up their tent, and they soundlessly crawled into it. Their crooked and crumpled tent stood just a few feet away from Tom and Lydia’s pristine and perpendicular one, both standing just by the verge of the forest line to the side of the cabin. Over at the fireplace, Sasha seemed to have pulled out her third round of s’mores, as she was currently holding a long stick with a marshmallow at the end over the fire, while still staying wrapped in her several blankets. Eren and Jean was passing the bag of the rest of marshmallow’s over the fireplace, seemingly playing a game of who could throw the bag closest to the flames without actually dropping it in the fire. Mikasa was carefully nibbling at a piece of chocolate as Marco passed out crackers and Connie seemed to have found his opportunity to fall asleep against Sasha. 

And Armin and Annie just sat on the rooftop in silence, watching them. But after a while, Annie stretched her legs out in front of her before she turned around to Armin again. 

“So, what’s up with the Ackermans? Is Mr. Ackerman and Mikasa related or what?”

He was surprised at her sudden interest in their small town affairs. He was certain that they had scared her off with their drunken fist fights and gay old men sneaking around and by forcing her up a secluded old mountain. So it took him a moment to finally answer her, and when he did, he didn't quite know what to say.

"Uh… Well... You see… Mr. Ackerman... He's… I think... The second cousin to Mikasa's dad?" Annie raised her eyebrows skeptically as Armin wrinkled his nose in uncertainty before sighing in defeat. “I wouldn't think too much about Levi Ackerman at all. He’s… A complicated man.”

Annie smiled at his resignation.

“Okay. What about Mikasa Ackerman then?” Narrowing her eyes evocatively, Armin saw that spark of inquisitiveness in them again. “Is she and Eren a thing?”

“Mikasa and Eren?” He repeated incredulously, the thought far from alien to him, but the proposal so unlikely that he had to fight down a snort. “No.”

Armin smiled wistfully at the idea as Eren finally made his way over to the fireplace, squeezing down next to Mikasa, bumping into her shoulder lightly with his own, making her smile softly. There had been a time when Armin had thought in the same paths as Annie, but having watched them for so many years by then, watching them growing closer and closer to each other, but without a single spark of romance igniting between them, he had finally let it go. But he understood why strangers still thought of his friends like that, and he met Annie’s dubious glance as he elaborated.

“Mikasa and Eren practically grew up as brother and sister. They both had pretty distant parents, and I suppose they both found their homes in each other. So yes, they care for each other very much, but no, they’re not a 'thing'.”

Annie still looked at him doubtfully, but seemed to be able to let it go.

“But please tell me that Ymir and Christa are.”

“Oh. Oh, _yeah_. They've been at it since kindergarten. But you gotta hand them that they've got commitment.”

“And… The lovebirds?”

“They’re lovebirds, in every sense of the word.”

“What about Jean and Marco?”

The suggestion threw Armin for such a loop that his silence spoke for him. But feeling the blush rising in his cheeks again, he tried to patch up his friends lie for them. 

“Oh, oh, you know, best friends since childhood and everything. Nothing more, nothing less.”

Armin noticed that Annie could tell that he was lying. But then again, anyone could probably have been able to tell he was. But she just averted her cool eyes from his burning face and didn't push him any further, and he sighed in relief. And even though Armin hadn't technically revealed anything of Marco’s secret, he somehow still believed that it rested safe with Annie. The glint of pure curiosity reassured him of that, and also her disinterest of more information. And pulling her knees up to her chest again, she simply nodded at the bundled lump on the ground next to the fireplace.

“Connie and Sasha then?”

“Connie and Sasha…” Armin had been able to recollect himself by then, but he still trailed off as his words failed him, and he found himself at a total loss. How could he possibly even begin to explain Connie and Sasha? So after several moments of utter silence, he decided to give her the only explanation that he could offer. “Are Connie and Sasha.”

Sasha and Connie were a mystery to all of them, and probably even to themselves. No one really remembered when or how they had shifted from the platonic relationship between childhood friends to the romantic one between young lovers, all they knew was that somewhere along the years it had happened.

And as they inspected the intertwined pile of limbs and blankets and soft snores together, Annie seemed lost in thought. After a while though, after Marco had stood up and draped another blanket over the entangled Sasha and Connie before departing to bed, Jean hot on his heels and a seemingly exhausted Marlowe following their tracks, she seemed to come to a conclusion. Turning her cool eyes to Armin again, he met her intent gaze. 

“You all make everything so complicated.”

Smiling softly, he shrugged as he mustered his most drawling accent.

“Well, what else're we s’posed to do in our spare time?”

Annie laughed gently then, a sound resonating from somewhere deep within her chest, a sound Armin was glad he could lure out of her.

“I like your ponytail, by the way.”

Flushing at her offhand comment, not entirely sure that the blush had ever left his cheeks in the first place, he reached around his neck to touch the small gathering of his short hair self-consciously. It was a habit of his to just simply tie it back whenever he couldn't stand to be bothered by it, which he had been earlier that day, and too lazy to cut it.

“Oh, uh, um…”

“No, I do!” Noticing his uncertainness, she smiled wider at him, and her voice was so earnest that he blushed even deeper. “It’s cute.”

“Thanks?”

“You’re welcome.”

Letting her smile retract slowly, she turned her gaze up to the murky sky again, and they fell into silence. They watched as everyone eventually made their way inside to go to bed, until the only ones left were the heap of the snoring Sasha and Connie beside the still smoldering fireplace, Erd and Günter who were by then slurring sleepily in their camping chairs by the forest line, and themselves up on the roof. Annie was still inspecting the dark sky above them as she spoke up again.

“This feels very…” Armin shifted his gaze to watch her struggle for the right word. “Peculiar.”

“I would have been surprised if it didn't.” Now it was his turn to search for the right words, and Annie used the time to turn her eyes to look at him. “They’re, _we’re_ , a pretty peculiar bunch.”

“I’m starting to see that.”

“And maybe one day you’ll be a part of it,” Armin suggested carefully. 

“I know.”

There was no warmth in her voice, no emotional tether to her words, but she wore a small, rueful smile on her face, and that was all it took to turn Armin’s insides to mush.

* * *

Waking up by Sasha’s elbow digging sharply into his cheek, Connie was forced to face the fact that he was actually awake. And deciding to gain something out of the inconvenient situation, he carefully made his way out of their warm blanket cocoon and out into the considerably chillier air, crawling his way over to the fireplace to throw some fresh logs onto the still weakly glowing hearth.

Listening to the distant chirping of birds, the weak sough of leaves and the soft crackling of fire as he guarded the wood slowly catching fire, he yawned as he sleepily scanned his surroundings. Judging from the slowly brightening and dissolving clouds and the fog creeping thicker around them, dawn was approaching. And as Connie turned around to go back to sleep, he thought he could just make out two blonde heads on top of the cabin roof. But he just shook his head as he yawned again, dragging his legs in the damp soil and wet leaves, muttering to himself.

 _No one’s foolish enough to sleep outside at this time of the year_ , he thought as he snuggled into Sasha’s warm embrace again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is so late. And it probably seems disjointed, but y’all just gonna have to go with it.
> 
> I had a great time in Turkey! But almost as soon as I stepped out of the plane back home again, I was brutally beaten down by a vicious cold. And I had trouble just breathing, so I didn't get much at all done. So I fell even farther behind in both my writing and my schoolwork, and I've been working like a maniac trying to catch up. So… Yeah.
> 
> I don't really know how it's going to proceed from here. Update wise, I thankfully still know where the story is going. I knew it was foolish of me trying to set a certain day for my updates. Because you never know when I'm going to get sick again, or when school decides to swamp me and... Yeah. My life is so unpredictable. But I'm still going to try and update every week, and I'm still so excited for this story, and I was a sad to see that this chapter was more fighting than writing, and I'm sad that I fell off my schedule. But I will try and catch up, and yeah, we'll just have to see what the future holds.
> 
> And I'm never satisfied with Jean's parts. And I don't know why. I'm fond of that stupid horseface. Is it the angsty, stuck-in-the-closet arc that I can't really connect with? I don't know.
> 
> Anyway, I hope you have all had three wonderful weeks while I've been gone, and I hope you're still enjoying this story!


	6. On top of the world

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everything takes unexpected turns in the Giant forest.
> 
> Or;
> 
> In which Annie becomes mesmerized, Mina's heart flutters to life again, Ymir gets lost, Eren finds himself as a bystander for once, and Sasha saves the day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _“‘Cause I’m on top of the world, ‘ay_   
>  _I’m on top of the word, ‘ay_   
>  _Waiting on this for a while now_   
>  _Paying my dues to the dirt_   
>  _I’ve been waiting to smile, ‘ay_   
>  _Been holding it in for a while, ‘ay_   
>  _Take you with me if I can_   
>  _Been dreaming of this since a child_   
>  _I’m on top of the world”_   
>  **\- Imagine Dragons, "On Top of the World"**

Everything is possible when you're on the top of the world.

* * *

“Hey, Braus.” Sasha tried to ignore Ymir. She really did. “What’s with the bow?”

“Dude. _Don’t._ ”

“Hey, I was just asking if it’s really necessary. I mean, what are you going to do? Shoot the Thanksgiving turkey already?”

“Ymir…” Christa muttered disapprovingly as they all trudged on. The mountain trail was steep and overgrown, and they had to watch their steps carefully. The narrow path forced them to walk in a succeeding line, with Connie leading the way up the stony and root scattered trail, Sasha hot on his heels, Ymir slogging behind her and Christa at the end. But Christa still managed to shove one of her sharp elbows into Ymir side, if Sasha could trust the loud whining coming from behind her. 

She never quite understood how sweet and kind Christa had fallen for such an ass as Ymir.

But then she supposed that she of all people ought to have known that in matters of the heart, your better judgement doesn't really stand a chance.

“Ymir, just let it go already,” Connie called from his place at the front of the line. “You’re just putting your hand in a lions mouth.”

“No, that’s it!” Ymir managed to exclaim in between her heavy pants, and Sasha could almost hear the stupid grin in her voice. “You want to go out lion hunting, don’t you, potato girl?”

That was the final straw. Sasha felt the flames of fury rising in her eyes as she instinctively reached behind her to grab hold of an arrow. Nocking it as she turned around, disturbing the leaves to the side of her as she did, the tip of the arrow almost touched the other girl’s collarbone as Sasha’s hands shook from the rage racing through her veins. Ymir immediately froze at the sight of the arrow, her eyes narrowing in on it, and her hands rose up into the air in surrender. 

“Whoa.”

“Do you _want_ an arrow through your heart?” Forcing herself to articulate over her accent, that Ymir had teased her for so when they were smaller, she fought back the tears that suddenly threatened to rise in her eyes.

“Sasha!” Christa watched them both in bafflement as Sasha drew the string taunter and Ymir’s eyes grew wider in terror as a furious pounding started in Sasha’s ears.

“Sash…” Connie’s hand hovered just above her shaking arm, knowing better than to touch her at a time like this, letting all of his worry pour into his voice instead. She could see his concerned glance out of the corner of her eye, but she was so focused staring down Ymir that she couldn't be bothered by it. But feeling the cool metal of the bow underneath her hand and the pull of the string against her fingers soothed her, and she felt the pounding fury retracting within her.

“Hey, what’s going on back here?” Slipping down the small slope that they had still not made it up over, Shadis stabilized himself quickly against the rocky path before watching what was taking the youths so long. But seeing the drawn bow and worried countenances, he just scowled softly. “Braus, save your arrows. And Ymir is on water duty, remember?”

Sasha slowly lowered her bow, but refused to break eye contact with Ymir. Ymir still had her hands raised high up into the air, but her eyes slowly lost their look of terror, and was instead replaced with mild irritation. And looking away from Ymir’s eyes just to inspect the several water bottles hanging from the sides of her backpack, and knowing the inside was full of them too, she realized that it was maybe better letting her live.

For so long.

So giving Ymir one final dirty look, Sasha turned on her heel, grabbed hold of Connie’s hand, and practically dragged him up the slope. Not feeling the need to consider Ymir’s slow shuffling any longer, Sasha raised the tempo, marched past a still slightly scowling Shadis before continuing their hike up the steep mountain.

“Sasha, it was just a joke!” Ymir’s shout was heard from somewhere far behind them, and this time Sasha actually succeeded in ignoring her. “Oh, come on!”

All pupils of Trost High School climbed Utgard mountain at least once every year. It was a tradition older than anyone could remember, and a tradition that Shadis refused to let go of, being part of every hike every year. But shepherding around 40 students up a steep and narrow mountain trail had never been an easy task, and something that Shadis had been very grateful to Erwin Smith for working out an efficient strategy around. The students were all divided into groups of four, and then a minimum of eight teachers were deployed in strategic positions along the trail, making out checkpoints for the groups of students to pass on their way up the mountain. There were always teachers placed by forks in the trail, and in places where the trail was faint, markings had been put out to show the way. It was all in all a very solid system, and not a single student had gone astray in over the ten years that Erwin had been at the school.

Sasha, Connie, Ymir and Christa had been ushered off as one of the middle groups, just behind the group consisting of Reiner, Bertholdt, Marco and Jean. And pushing aside a branch of spruce in order to evade its sharp needles for both herself and Connie, Sasha could just make out the backpacked behind of a clearly whining Jean. The poor boy had also landed himself on water duty, and she was sure that he was slowly wearing both Marco, Reiner and Bertholdt down with his complaining. Reaching down to help Connie up the steep end of a cliff, cutting in on a short cut, they were making considerably quicker progression already.

Sasha had grown up in the wilderness. Her parents had always been outdoorsmen, her father being an experienced hunter and her mother an avid hiker of all sorts. Most of Sasha’s first memories were of sitting on her father’s shoulders, reaching her short arms up into the cool air, trying to touch the forest ceiling as her mother pointed out various kinds of birds and flowers. Sasha had known how to properly hold a bow before she had learned how to write her own name, and she had known all of the trails of the forest behind their farm as she still got lost in downtown Trost. Sasha felt more comfortable stalking game than talking with people, and she saw nothing wrong in that.

Sasha Braus had grown up in between mountain crevices and underneath clear starry skies, and it was just as a permanent part of her as her own heart.

Briskly making their way up the steep and stony path, she and Connie were quickly closing in on the four boys in front of them. The morning had still been cloudy, but some of the sun's rays had just started to make their way through the thick covering. Connie had woken her up at the crack of dawn with the sleeping chattering of his teeth, and she had tickled him awake too, mostly just to put him out of his own misery. And by then it had been too late for them to fall back asleep, and they had started up the fireplace again to try and regain some of their warmth. And when Eren and Mikasa were the first ones to sleepily walk out into the chilly morning air about an hour later, they had already made it through their first breakfast, and were on their very good way in preparing everyone else’s. 

When the company had set out on their hike later in the morning, a thin veil of fleeting fog still danced between the trees and made it even more impossible for them to see the groups in front of them. The mountain air had been stark and crisp, and it had been full of sounds of the forest. The murmuring of the streams, whispers of the trees and rumbles of the mountains. The week chirping of birds and soft thumping of rabbits and gentle clicking of beetles.

But by early midday, the clouds dissipated and the air grew hotter as the sun showered the forest in its own cascade of colors. 

And Sasha and Connie caught up with their prey just as Jean’s moaning became too much for Reiner.

“Oh, I give up already!” Turning around to face him, Reiner thrust out his hand in Jean’s direction. “Just give me it!”

“What, Reiner, you don’t have to…” Swiftly pulling his most bashful expression, Jean looked up at him with innocent eyes. But Reiner just glared at him and stretched his arm out further.

“Give. Me. _It._ ”

“Well, if you insist,” Jean was quick in accommodating him, shrugging off his water burdened backpack and throwing it into Reiner’s waiting hands. Shouldering the backpack, he didn't notice the newcomers until then. 

“Sasha? Connie?” Looking back and forth between the two, he frowned softly. “What are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be in the back with Ymir and Christa?”

Throwing Connie a quick, warning glance, Sasha plastered on her most innocent smile before she started her retelling.

“Yeah, ‘bout that…”

* * *

The view from the peak of Utgard mountain was absolutely breathtaking.

The horizon stretched out after hundred of miles of flatland, the gentle blue sky softly caressing the yellowing grassland underneath it. The colorful forest line was a sharp contrast to the bleak fields, the mountain sides singing with orange and red and gold and all different hues of green. The fields still bustled with activity, tractors and plows and harvesters all helping out in preparing for the quickly approaching winter. Lingering clouds from the night before speckled the vast fields with its shadows, but most of the golden fields bathed in just as golden light. One of the larger lakes just to the east reflected the already blinding midday sun, and it felt like the few lingering clouds above them were just out of reach. 

The hike up the mountain hadn't been as bad as Annie had ideated it to be. The walk had been steep and exacting, but she had always enjoyed a physical challenge. And walking with Mina had been more exciting than she could have ever imagined, the cheerleader cheerfully pointing out peculiar formations in the mountain and special sections of the forest. Mina had been so captivating in her telling that Annie had momentarily forgotten their companions, but as she looked over at Thomas and Daz, Annie having learned long ago that the latter were the chatterbox of the bunch, the two boys had also been entirely wrapped up in her tales. And before they all knew it, they had reached the summit of the mountain.

And standing at the edge of the mountain, breathing in the sharp mountain air and listening to the careful hooting of an owl somewhere in the forest behind her, Annie tried to take it all in. She had grown up thinking that the view from the Empire State Building was the most magnificent thing in the entire world, but doubt was rapidly gnawing at the back of her head. And as a shoulder softly bumped into her own, she snapped her jaw shut, not realizing that it had been hanging open until then.

“So, whataya think?” Smiling at her warmly, Mina’s eyes sparkled with life and excitement. And quickly pulling her face into her most neutral expression, Annie tried her hardest to keep her voice apathetic.

“It’s okay.”

But Mina must have seen the awe still stuck in her eyes, because she just smiled wider before bumping into her again.

“Well, I’ll see you on the way down,” she said, before winking quickly and walking back to Hitch, leaving Annie alone at the edge of the mountain with her torrent of thoughts. There was a soft breeze at her back, making small twirls of her hair fall into her face. The sun shone brightly down on her, and she didn't think she had ever tasted air that pristine. And she couldn't tear her eyes away from the distant horizon.

“Cadets, time to get to work!”

At Shadis's command, the students suddenly sprang to life from their short break after having all climbed the mountain. Shovels and notebooks and magnifier glasses were all brought out, and the confused mumble of students at work filled the cool air. But Annie still lingered at her place right at the verge of the mountain, carefully balancing at the core of her feet.

Annie Leonhardt had for a long time believed that the view from the Empire State Building was the most magnificent view in the entire world. But that belief slowly changed after that Friday afternoon.

* * *

The hike down the mountain was obviously much quicker. But no less eventful just because of it.

The whole thing started already at the peak of the mountain, really. Apparently, Sasha and Ymir had gotten themselves into a quarrel, and Sasha refused to walk back down with her. And after a lot of arguing and whining, Levi had allowed her and Connie to walk back with the group of boys they had walked up with anyway, after Ymir had promised that she and Christa would be fine on their own. And sending down the two girls as one of the first groups, Levi had started his own hike down the mountain, muttering angrily.

Mina’s group, consisting of Annie, Thomas and Daz were at the end of the herd, just a group or two in front of the tail group, consisting of Sasha and the boys. Mina was slightly worn out from that afternoon’s digging, hacking and picking. Hitch had stubbornly refused to get her hands dirty, and had left all the digging to Mina. Hitch had still contributed to their cause though, attentively doing all the observations as Mina had sat back and tried to catch her breath. And their controversially divided work had paid off, as they had been able to identify the most geological occurrences out of everyone of their peers. And it seemed like a slight miracle to Mina too, seeing how she didn't understand anything of what they were really doing. She had never known Hitch had had such an interest in geology.

And because of her weariness, Mina didn't have quite the zest she had had on their way up the mountain. She was having a hard time just keeping up with the rest of her group, which left little to no time to strike up a monologue again. But seeing the opportunity opened up by her silence, Daz had seized it without a moments hesitation. He was vigorously and urgently going on and on about how unnecessary and monotonous their annual trips up that wretched mountain were, and how they were really just an excuse for Shadis to torture them all. And this time it was Annie’s turn to give Mina understanding glances and encouraging smiles as she helped her limp down the rocky and narrow trail.

Mina was just about to walk over and punch Daz quiet, even if it would have taken all of her remaining strength, when it happened. One second he was whining loudly against the clear sky above them, and the next he was wailing even louder from his place laying face down in the gravel. The three of them had just stood staring at him in confusion for a while, until Annie, to Mina’s great surprise and joy, had walked over to the pile made out of Daz’s tangled limbs, and deduced that he had sprained his ankle. 

Thomas had then half-supported, half-carried him down to the next checkpoint, where a concerned Petra had promised to look after him until she could get help from the rest of the teachers transporting him down to camp again. None of them had really minded leaving the whining Daz in her competent hands, and had continued their hike down the mountain again. The walk had been considerably quieter when there were just the three of them left, but it was a serene quiet, and Mina enjoyed just listening to the muted sounds of the forest. 

And somewhere in between Petra’s checkpoint and the next, they had decided to take a water break, Thomas shrugging off the backpack containing the remains of their provision. After emptying the last of their bottles and packing them back into Thomas’ bag, Annie had started down the steep path again. But Mina’s exhaustion had finally caught up with her properly, and she was hardly paying attention to where she was stepping.

And that was when she slipped.

Feeling her feet give out from under her, losing their grip on the treacherous stones, her breath escaped her, and she could just wait for the crash. The whole world slowed down around her as she fell, and in her mind she could see her head colliding with the sharp rocks beneath her, leaving her bleeding out on the warm forest floor, slowly dying below the setting sun. She supposed she could have died in a much worse setting, and she supposed it was kind of poetic to pass on in time with the changing forest. But just as she was about to accept her fate, a pair of strong hands grabbed hold of her, and she fell into the warm embrace of her savior.

Thomas stumbled a little as he caught her weight, but he quickly steadied the both of them. Time and space came crashing down on Mina again along with her panicked breathing. She was hanging limply in his grip down the steep slope, her back pressed tightly to his chest, and she could feel his steady heartbeat against her own frantic one. Annie turned around just as Thomas had caught her, and she raised her eyebrows as Mina slumped even further into Thomas grip, quickly thanking God or whoever it was out there that he had.

Pressing a hand to her chest as she tried to catch her breath, Thomas shifted his hold on her so that her feet connected with the ground again.

“Hey, you okay?”

But looking up at his concerned face, Mina was pulled back in time, to the night of Jean’s back-to-school party, where the same pair of strong hands and soft brown eyes had saved her from a similar situation, and she blushed viciously. She had still not been able to shake of the shame for not immediately remembering him that night, and she was not pleased that him constantly having to catch her from falling was turning into a recurring occurrence. So awkwardly pulling herself out of his grip, she feebly stood up on her own two feet again.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m fine,” she said as she smiled at him shakily. “Thank you.”

And then she turned her back to him before he could catch sight of her burning cheeks.

Mina and Thomas had known each other forever. They had gone to the same kindergarten, as most of them had, really. But Thomas had always just been the slightly odd, extremely shy and exceptionally kindhearted but painfully ordinary boy to her. Thomas had never stood out, had always melted into his surroundings, never caught Mina’s eye. He was a part of the soccer team, and was actually the backbone of their whole success, but he had never claimed credit for anything, and so he had never received any either. He performed averagely at everything he put his mind to, never exceptionally or poorly, just averagely. 

But something about that night had changed her view of him. She saw a new sparkle in his soft eyes and a new angle to his strong face, and she could feel the kindness flowing so carefreely from his heart.

And Mina could tell that she was falling, falling hard.

So stalking past Annie, she decided to ignore her quizzical look.

Mina’s heart was still beaten, bruised and aching in her chest, but the soft fluttering in her stomach was slowly making its way upwards. And for the first time in months, she was beginning to believe that maybe someday, it would heal.

* * *

The walk down the mountain had been a hell of a lot more amusing that the hike up.

Sasha had decided that Jean was in enough of a bad mood without her pestering him, so she had decided to try and cheer him up instead. And the whole ordeal had ended with all of them, except Jean, singing old camp songs from their childhood. Jean was walking in the midst of them, silently murmuring about how the entire forest must have been able to hear their howling. But Sasha could see the small smile playing on his lips whenever he thought no one was looking, and a small satisfaction settled in her chest, glad that she had been able to cheer him up, if even just a little bit.

Jean and Sasha had always gnawed at each other’s nerves as little kids, always finding some way to set the other off. But despite all of that, Sasha considered him one of her closest friends, and it saddened her to see how gloomy he had become during the last couple of years.

Jean had been a cheerful and bright little fella, with sunshine radiating from his eyes and rainbows pouring out of his hands. He had always been a creative being, and Sasha remembered the envy she had felt toward him when his princess drawings always ended up a hundred times better than hers. And even though he still clung on to his creativity, the cheerfulness and colorfulness had slowly been worn off him. When they had left their childhood behind and stepped into the scary land of puberty, Jean’s bright eyes had turned dusky and the rainbows had been replaced by sharp shapes in black and white. He became cynical and pessimistic, and if Sasha hadn't been there to see the transformation, she wouldn't have believed it was the same person. 

He had started dressing in all black, started listening to angry and frustrated music and had snuck off to get his first tattoo one weekend when his mother wasn't home. And Sasha had been supportive of him, as they had all been, but that didn't mean that she still wasn't worried for him. She very rarely saw him smile, and the only times he seemed peaceful was when he was bent over a sketchbook. 

So even just seeing him smiling softly at their silly singing, was a step in the right direction for her.

Seeing how they were the tail group, they were supposed to head down the mountain with all of the teachers. They had walked down the summit with Günter, but when they had passed Erd’s checkpoint, the two men had apparently decided that the rowdy group of teenagers had been too much for them to handle, and they had quickly walked ahead of them. And Mr. Ackerman had turned his back to them as soon as they got within his field of vision.

But their singalong was cut short as they made it down to Shadis' checkpoint. The old man stared at them until all of their singing had died out, and only Sasha was left humming softly, until his hard gaze silenced her too. But as they made it closer to him, none of them making a sound, and his stare didn't soften in the slightest, confusion settled between them.

Reiner, at the head of their group, stopped in front of the former principal, with his feet planted firmly on the ground below him and his back as stiff as a board, and Sasha half expected him to do the salute.

“Shadis,” he greeted him formally, but Sasha could see the apprehension in his eyes. “Is something wrong?”

The bald man’s forehead smoothed as he inspected them, and he cleared his throat quickly before he spoke.

“You didn’t pass Ymir and Christa, did you?”

The six of them looked at each other in puzzlement before looking back at Shadis again.

“No,” they all replied in unison.

“Thought so.”

“They haven’t passed yet?” Sasha tried, but failed, to keep the worry out of her voice. Twilight was fast approaching, and judging from the clear sky above them, that night was going to be a hell of a lot colder than the previous one. 

“No.”

“But they were one of the first groups to head down,” Marco stated, confusion apparent in his clear brown eyes.

“Yes.”

“Oh no,” Sasha groaned as she couldn't disregard the obvious anymore. Closing her eyes in order to suppress the turmoil of emotions roaring within her, she opened them with only determination shining through. “ _Idjits._ ”

Handing Connie her bow, she removed his old Boston Eagles cap and slipped it onto her own head. She was going to need it more than he was at that point. Digging in her pockets, she handed him some candy bars and some other unnecessary scraps in exchange for a water bottle. Looking at him as he handed her it, he nodded slowly and she smiled weakly in return. They had long ago passed the need for words to communicate, and she was glad that Connie had faith in her. But removing her quiver momentarily to shrug off the small backpack she had been carrying, she could feel Jean’s worried eyes on her.

“Wait, you’re not heading out after them, are you?” 

Looking up at him, she could feel the guilt rising within her.

“What am I s’posed to do then?”

It was her fault that Christa and Ymir had gotten lost. She and Connie were supposed to be their shepherds, and if Sasha had endured Ymir’s bickering for just a little while longer, she would have grown bored, and none of that would have ever happened. Sasha was responsible for Ymir and Christa going astray, and it was her responsibility to bring them back. So suppressing the guilt quickly rising in her chest again, she took her first, careful steps out from the rocky trail and into the keen and incessant forest surrounding them. The sun was setting at an alarming rate at that time, shadows leaping in between the trees and obscurity growing out of the shadows, and Sasha could feel the boy’s gazes on her back.

“Braus!” Shadis called after her just before she got out of their view, just the slightest hint of a tremor in his voice. “You got this?”

“Sure do, chief.”

She just wished she felt as confident as she sounded.

* * *

Eren’s group, consisting of him, Armin, Mikasa and Nac, had been one of the first groups sent down the mountain side again, and had made it back to the cabin just in time for Auruo to put them on dinner duty. Auruo had, of course, refused to hike up the mountain, and had offered to stay behind at the cabin, working out some chores, but he was, of course, quick in distributing them as soon as the students started milling out of the forest.

Eren had a hard time believing that Auruo had actually gotten anything done in the hours they had all been gone. None of the breakfast dishes had been washed, the cabin wasn't cleaned from that morning's chaos and the dinner was not prepared. But then again, he hadn't expected anything else. Aurou had explicitly worded his unwillingness to follow them all up the mountain, but seeing how Petra had excitedly volunteered when Levi had asked for more backup to keep them all in check, she had forced her husband to tag along, much to all of their disdain. And then Aurou was stuck with them and they were stuck with him in the middle of the Giant forest with really no way out, and Eren supposed they were all just trying to make the best out of it.

And if that meant doing the dishes, cleaning the cabin and cooking the dinner just to get out of Aurou’s way, then so be it.

So as more and more students continued to spill out of the woods, they all went along with Auruo’s delegating without protest. And nothing really happened in the camp, until Mina’s group came trudging in.

Thomas and Annie, even though appearing weary looking, just nodded and shrugged at Aurou’s commands, and slipped out of his way as quickly as they could. But Mina had flatly ignored Auruo’s many remarks, and had simply walked over to the pile of blankets that Sasha and Connie had left by the fireplace in a hurry earlier that morning, and had passed out cold. She had lay lifeless for a good solid 30 minutes before Eren could notice her breathing again, but after that she had slowly but surely returned to the land of the living, carefully sitting up and gently burrowing her face in her hands as Eren placed a pot of baked beans on the crackling fireplace.

Erd and Günter had scuffled out of the forest not long after Mina, none of them looking so well either, but as Eren thought about it, they hadn't been during the entire day. But after them came the hustle and shuffle of Erwin, Levi, Petra and Mike all helping out in carrying a pale Daz into the camp. Thomas had already told them what had happened during their hike down the mountain, but it had still not prepared them for the sight that met them. Daz had only sprained his ankle, but it still took two giants and Levi and Petra to transport him. He looked to be on the verge of passing out, and he whined softly into the shoulder of a clearly vexed Mr. Ackerman.

As Erwin lowered Daz down next to Eren by the fireplace, he angrily chided himself for not thinking of asking Nurse Zoe to come along too, as Daz cried softly from his pain. But then Günter seemed to liven up a bit, seeing how he quickly pulled out a compression bandage, and started muttering about how you needed no nurse to treat a simple sprained ankle as he started binding the white cloth around Daz’ swollen ankle, while Daz himself protested loudly.

And as Daz fell asleep, thankfully shutting up meanwhile, Mina carefully got up on her feet again and started tiptoeing her way around the grounds, making sure she stayed out of Auro’s way. Things were calm for a while, and Eren was strangely content just sitting by the fireplace, gently shuffling pots across the fire and carefully poking at the flaming hearth. The sun set low in the sky, just kissing the top of the gold and green wall of trees behind them, leaving them all in the soft shade of dusk. 

But then Shadis had appeared at the edge of the forest, with Connie, Jean, Marco, Reiner and Bertholdt all in tow, a grim expression on his face.

Everything seemed to slow down as everyone inspected the odd group quietly waiting at the edge of the camp, seemingly not daring to step inside of its borders. Erwin soundlessly walked up in height with where Eren sat, to get as a good look as he could get of them all, inspecting Shadis carefully before he spoke.

“Keith, where are the girls?”

Erwin’s voice was steady and authoritative, but Eren had been around him for long enough by then to notice the worried shift in his body language and the concern in his icy eyes. Shadis was the epitome of expressionlessness, as even the deep wrinkles in his forehead smoothed out as he squared his shoulders and met Erwin’s gaze.

“Ymir and Christa are missing.”

“What?” Many around them exclaimed, Mina being heard most above them all, standing up from her hideout behind the large pile of firewood, worry and fear beaming from her.

“Where’s Sasha?” Mikasa asked as she gently wrapped her arms around herself, and Eren could tell a cold shiver had ran down her spine. He had detected just the slightest of quiver in her voice, but her eyes were like two spikes of steel as they focused on Shadis.

“She went out after them.”

“On her own?” Erwin inquired as he slowly walked closer to Shadis, never letting his eyes waver from the older man.

“Yes.”

“How could you allow her to do something like that, Keith?” Erwin asked, letting the fury that Eren had seen building in his eyes slip into his voice. “She’s just a _girl_ …”

“She’s one of the best hunters in the state,” Shadis interrupted him, a look of fierce protectiveness taking shape in his eyes. “She knows these mountains better than the palm of her own hand. If anyone’s going to find those two, it’s her.” Pausing shortly to catch his breath, Shadis held Erwin’s still furious glare levelly. “And she said she could handle it.”

The two old men, or Eren supposed old-ish and ancient, but still considerably older than himself, seemed to have broken the dam of their deliberately withheld emotions, and then the whole grove seemed to be swimming in an uncanny mixture of rage, conviction, worry and faith. And searching for a lifebuoy in the crashing waves of emotions, Eren looked over at Connie. The other boy had a small but brave smile on his face, and Eren could tell how hard he tried to look confident, but he could see the worry in his bright eyes. And that did nothing to ease Eren’s own mood.

“Shadis is right, Erwin,” Levi finally offered cautiously and in a low voice, and Eren probably wouldn't have been able to hear him if he hadn't stood on Eren’s side of Erwin. Erwin whirled on him with a murderous glare in his eyes, but Levi’s sharp gray ones held the same conviction that Shadis’ had. “If Braus says she got it, she got it.”

Erwin looked helplessly between the two men ganging up against him, before throwing his hands up in defeat and headed into the cabin. Levi watched him leave with a slight glance of worry in his eyes, but turned around sharply from Eren’s curious gaze before he could inspect it further. Shadis seemed to have seen Erwin’s gesture of defeat as his formal invitation back into camp, and walked over to the wooden barrel that collected rainwater on the side of the cabin to wash his face. The boys having stood behind him also walked tentatively into the by then deadly silent grove.

Connie, carrying two backpacks and having lost his cap, was the first to walk over to Eren by the fireplace. He slumped down in between him and Daz, giving the snoring lump a confused look before shaking his head and stretching out his hands towards the fire. The other boys slowly followed Connie, and Eren stood up from his seat to give them some space. Walking over to Mikasa, he carefully inspected her worried eyes and her still stiff and tight posture. He also crossed his arms against the chilly evening air, and followed Mikasa’s gaze up to the darkening sky above them, watching the stars slowly dotting the firmament.

“Sasha got it, right?” Looking over at Mikasa again, he wanted her to meet his hesitant glance with her confident smile and wash all of his doubts away.

But she just kept her eyes trained on the weak stars above them, her gaze empty and her voice shallow when she finally spoke up.

“I sure hope so.”

* * *

“Ymir.”

“Christa, I _know_ where we are.”

“Of course you do, babe.”

Ymir was no fool. She knew that they were lost, and she knew that Christa knew that too. But Ymir was also the last person on earth to admit failure. So all Christa could do was to take a deep breath to keep her frustration and weariness in check, and put on an encouraging smile for her stubborn girlfriend.

But Ymir must have been able to detect the poorly disguised sarcasm in her voice, as she whirled on her with a wild look in her eyes.

“Hey, I’m getting us out of this fucking forest if it’s the last thing I do…”

“Ymir, there’s no need to take it out on the trees,” Christa finally exclaimed. She smiled sweetly up at her, but Ymir must have seen the strain in her eyes, because her own softened. Her anger faltered, and a look of embarrassed bashfulness crept upon her face.

“I’m sorry,” she finally muttered, keeping her eyes trained on the stark ground beneath them. Christa had to restrain herself from walking over to kiss her freckled face, and settled on gently bumping her hip into her side instead.

“Hey, it’s okay. Look, there’s the sun,” she said as she pointed to the vague light shining through the dense treetops above them. “So that’s west. The summit is northeast of Mr. Ackerman’s cabin, so we should be heading southwest. We’re getting out of here, sooner or later.”

Reaching over to grab hold of her hand, Christa smiled at her genuinely this time, and Ymir sighed before squeezing her hand gratefully. Starting muttering about how sorry she was again, Christa pushed up on her toes to quickly peck her cheek to shut her up, before starting guiding her southwest.

They had been wandering around in between the gigantic trees for what felt like hours by then. Ymir had somehow persuaded Christa to take "just a quick detour” in between the checkpoints of Mr. Ackerman and Shadis, and somehow a quick make out session had gotten them so lost in the swiftly transforming forest that Ymir had apparently lost track of what was up and what was down.

But a gentle peacefulness settled in Christa’s chest as she wandered over the forest floor filled with colorful leaves and patches completely covered in pine needles, with the fall breeze softly whistling in between the trees and the sky turning a soft cobalt blue above them, with Ymir’s reassuring hand fitting perfectly into her own. Those mountains had always been synonymous with tranquility to Christa, and she adored the false serenity the forest slowly lulled her into. So despite the worry of being completely lost gnawing at the back of her mind, she enjoyed just strolling below the tall trees with Ymir by her side, watching the stars softly pricking holes in the sky.

The peacefulness was quickly ripped out of her chest though, as she caught sight of the tawny lump of what she believed she was seeing.

“Ymir,” she said urgently, tugging at her hand. But the other girl seemed lost in her own little world, and Christa turned her voice even sharper. “Ymir!”

That caught the attention of her girlfriend, and as she looked down at her in confusion, Christa nodded jerkily in the direction of the tawny lump. Ymir turned her gaze in the direction Christa had nodded in, confusion still apparent on her face, and then her jaw fell.

“Hey, isn't that…”

“A mountain lion,” Christa filled in incredulously as Ymir trailed off. 

Panic was quickly growing in Christa’s chest, but she just as quickly suppressed it and tried to keep her mind clear. She tried to remember anything they had ever learnt about mountain lions, but soon came up with nothing. Ymir softly shook her head, and seemed to shake herself out of the trance the large cat had put her in.

“But that’s not possible,” she whispered furiously while looking down at Christa with a glance mixed with fear, worry and bewilderment. “They’re not supposed to be this far east, right?”

“But this one is.”

The cat was just a couple of hundred feet away from them, casually licking at one of its front paws, apparently paying no heed to them. Christa grabbed a more secure hold of Ymir’s hand, and started to gently pull her back to where they had come from.

“We should probably…” But before she had the chance to complete her sentence, there was a sharp snap echoing around the trees as Ymir accidentally stepped on a twig. The lion's head instantly turned in their direction, its clear eyes focusing right at Christa and its ears standing up sharp into the air.

As Christa’s breathing turned shallow, it slowly pushed itself up on its strong legs, never breaking eye contact with her. Its tail swayed lazily behind it, and it took a few careful steps in their direction. Ymir’s hold on her hand turned stronger, and she tugged at it sharply, but Christa refused to look away from the lion.

She had owned a cat when she was just a small girl. A feisty ragdoll named Marilyn Moewroe, that had seen the entity of humanity as her enemy, but always came whining whenever she needed Christa to rub her neck. But Christa had learned a great deal from her shared years with Marilyn Moewroe, and one thing was that the considerably larger cat in front of her at that time was just curious, her ears pointing up at the same angle that Marilyn Moewroe’s had whenever she had seen Christa’s mom putting on lipstick. Just the harmless curiosity of a curious individual.

So when Ymir started tugging more violently at Christa’s arm, she jerked out of her grip.

“Christa, we should run!”

“I don’t think we’re supposed to…” Christa was cut off by a low snarl, and she quickly turned around to face the cat again. The lion’s shoulders had lowered, its ears pushed back against its head and it stared at Ymir intensively. Ymir grabbed hold of Christa’s hand again, and this time her fingernails dug into Christa’s palm, but Christa forced her breathing to remain calm.

The lion snarled gently again, and took a careful step closer to them, and Ymir tugged even harder on Christa’s arm.

“Christa, come _on!_ ”

The lion crouched lower to the ground and hissed at them sharply at the sound of Ymir’s shrill voice, and Christa’s mind went blank. The mountain lion had been harmless, just curiously watching them as they had come stomping into its territory, but Ymir had turned it hostile with her constant shouting and franticness, and now Christa couldn't figure out what to do anymore. But just as the lion stepped uncomfortably close to them, and Christa was about to succumb to the panic rising within her, a blur of soft brown and dull red swished past her.

“Get back! Get behind me!”

Sasha wore a maroon cap on top of her long brown hair tied back at the back of her head, and her voice was sharp and commanding as she pulled the string on her bow even taunter. The head of her arrow was aimed directly at the crouching lion just a few feet in front of her, and Christa didn't hesitate in following her command. Ymir on the other hand, still holding on to Christa in an iron grip, turned around to escape, but Christa managed to pull her back. 

“Don’t turn yer backs to it!” Sasha shouted as she threw a quick and nervous glance back at them, before returning her gaze to the lion watching them all inventively. “And for the love of _god_ , don’t start runnin’!”

Sasha hissed at the cat, and it snarled back at her, but stayed its ground as Sasha slowly started walking backwards. Ymir, for once listening to what Sasha was saying, followed her example, a mixture of panic and fear on her face. Christa felt a little better now that there were a drawn arrow between her and the lion, and she had succeeded in calming her breath, but she was far from comfortable, tensing from the charged air all around them.

“Hiya, ya ugly bastard,” Sasha muttered as the lion snarled again, its tail starting twitching and it crouched even lower against the ground, the muscles in its back dancing beautifully underneath the fur. “Up with yer arms,” she instructed with a soft voice, not letting her eyes waver from the lion for even a second, her hands holding the bow and arrow as steady as the bedrock below them. “Up with yer jackets too, make yerself as big as ya can.”

Christa did as she had been told, unzipping her jacket, stepping up on her toes and straining to stretch her arms up as far in the air as she could, the back of her jacket smacking into the back of her head every once in a while. Sasha continued to hiss at the lion as they continued their walk backwards, and Christa looked over quickly to see the look of sheer horror on Ymir’s face as she kept her eyes trained on Sasha’s back. The lion’s clear eyes bounced between them, from the swaying Christa to the hissing Sasha to the trembling Ymir, confusion apparent in its gaze. But then it suddenly narrowed its eyes, opened its jaws wide and hissed back vociferously.

“C’mon then,” Sasha muttered as the lion prowled slowly towards them, a wicked grin plastered on her face, and Christa could feel her heart skipping a few beats in her chest. “ _C’mon._ ”

And then it lept.

Ymir released a blood curdling scream as it pushed off the ground with its strong hind legs, leaping up into the air with its front paws stretched out towards them. Christa froze, with her arms shaking in the air and the tip of her shoes placed firmly into the ground, watching the feline fly through the air, admiring its grace and somehow completely disbanding all of her fear. 

And then Sasha’s arrow penetrated deep into its chest.

It was a beautiful shot, the arrowhead burrowing itself right into the lion’s heart. The impact of the shot surprised it, and it faltered in mid-air, falling back, landing hard on its back before turning over and screaming in agony and pain. It tried to crawl away from them, but quickly fell back on its side, hissing sharply.

Christa fell back on her heels the moment the cat had collapsed to the ground, and her first instinct was to make sure Ymir was alright. She had curled in on herself, crouched down and pulled her jacket around herself in a desperate attempt to shield herself. But she was by then slowly standing up again, staring at the slowly dying lion with eyes set wide in disbelief. Reaching over to grab hold of her hand again, Ymir squeezed it gratefully.

Sasha released a deep breath as she lowered her bow, her shoulders falling along with it. Not even glancing back at Christa and Ymir, she swiftly walked over to the dying lion and knelt down behind it, reached over and gently stroked its head. And neither Christa or Ymir really had the mindset to protest.

“Shhhh, shhhh…” Sasha lulled the dying animal softly. Petting its head fondly as it twitched below her hands, the lion’s whining soon turned softer, almost turned into a purr. Christa and Ymir could only watch her in astonishment. The hunter was gently lulling its prey into the afterlife, and the whole situation was too bizarre for Christa to even begin to wrap her head around. And as the lion's breathing turned slower and then nonexistent, Christa could see the soft tremble in Sasha's hands as she released its rigid body. But finally turning around to inspect the two girls again, Sasha must have seen the awe and horror shining through their eyes, because her own expression turned shameful. “I’m sorry. But it had to be in self-defense.”

Looking back at the lion again, she carefully stroked its head one last time.

“And a pity too.” Reaching around to the front of the lion, Sasha grabbed hold of the arrow sticking out of its chest, and pulled it out. Watching Sasha as she held up the blood stained arrow, Christa could hear the wistfulness in her voice. “She was beautiful.”

Christa gently wrapped her arms around Ymir, who still couldn't let the mountain lion go with her gaze, and they watched as Sasha sat back behind the stiff body of the large cat. Taking a few deep breaths, Sasha dried the blood off her arrow on a tuft of withering grass before standing up.

And as Ymir still clung on to Christa for dear life, even though she tried to conceal it, Sasha held an expression as hard as the stony foundation below them, looking as if nothing at all had happened. Christa was just about to ask if she was doing okay when she pulled out a roll of blood red plastic ribbon out of her pocket, walked over to the closest tree and tied a good chunk of it around the trunk, as far up as she could reach. The ribbon swayed softly in the breeze above the dead animal.

Sasha reached down to pick up her bow and arrow and removed her maroon cap as she straightened again, wiping at her forehead with the sleeve of her jacket as she inspected the two consoling girls with a worried expression.

“Hey, ya guys okay?”

“Yeah,” Christa finally managed to stutter, surprised at Sasha’s apparent concern for them, when she had just been so concerned for her. Christa had a little of a hard time keeping up with all the sudden mood changes, and judging from Ymir's blank expression, so had she. “Just… A little shaken up.”

And that was probably the understatement of the year.

But Sasha just smiled at them fondly, her eyes twinkling like the faint stars above them. But then her smile faltered, and her eyes turned exasperated.

“ _Idjits._ A _mountain lion?_ What’re the _odds?_ ”

And then she stalked past them, heading in the direction she had come from, muttering loudly as she left them behind her. And Christa couldn't help but to smile at the whole situation, and gently tugged Ymir after her to catch up.

* * *

They had just finished dinner when the flashlight lit up the edge of the forest.

The meal hadn't been the merry happening as it had been the night before. Everyone had been sitting on pins and needles, anxiously waiting for the loud bickering that would signal that Sasha, Ymir and Christa were returning. But nightfall had quickly fallen, and there had been no sign of the three girls.

Erwin had given Shadis three hours. That was how long he was willing to wait for Sasha to bring back the lost girls before he would drive down the mountain to call for backup and then head out to search for them himself. And Erwin had waited out those three hours nervously shaking his legs at the edge of a camp chair, Levi awkwardly standing beside him, patting his shoulder. The deadline for those three hours were just slipping away when the tall trees at the east of the cabin were illuminated by the bright light of a flashlight.

Eren had just rolled down the sleeves of his sweater after finishing the dishes when Ymir and Christa came tumbling out from the treeline. Ymir looked pale and sick, and Christa looked exhausted, but had a high flush in her cheeks. Sasha came strolling out after them, leaning her bow against her leg as she pulled out a long stretch of red ribbon to tie around the trunk of a tree.

“Sasha!” Mina exclaimed, jumping up to her feet in delight. Eren quickly looked over at Mikasa, just to catch her release a deep breath and finally relaxing as her eyes followed Sasha’s every move. Erwin slowly stood up from his seat, also sighing in relief. Shadis walked out of the shadows of the cabin, and Eren thought he could just make out a proud smile on his thin lips. “Ymir, Christa, where have you _been?”_

Sasha sighed as she shook her head and walked past the two girls, still looking pretty overwhelmed and standing hand in hand by the edge of the forest.

“These two idjits ran into a mountain lion,” Sasha muttered as she removed Connie’s cap from her head and threw it in his direction. He caught it clumsily, watching her walk over to the barrel of rainwater to wash her face, his eyes poorly concealing his wonderment.

“ _What?_ ” Mina turned to Ymir and Christa with a look of horror on her face.

“We did not,” Ymir was quick in defending herself, her voice thick with indignation. But after licking her lips and averting her eyes, she quietly muttered; “It ran into us.”

A stunned silence filled the grove after that. Erwin had risen to his full height, and looked between the three returned girls with a dazed expression. Nanaba had walked over and wrapped both Ymir and Christa in blankets, something at least Christa thanked her gratefully for. Erd and Günter had walked over from their place by the other edge of the forest to see what all the fuss was about, and Shadis had an apprehensive look in his eyes.

“Did you take care of it, Braus?” Levi finally inquired.

“Yeah,” Sasha said as she dried off her face with her shirt, but there was no joy in her voice. “She jumped us. Lies a few miles into the forest, I marked the way.” And then she smiled a somber smile as her eyes lost focus. “A real beauty.”

Levi just nodded at her solemnly before turning his attention back to Erwin, and Sasha removed her quiver from her back.

“Wait,” Hitch’s piercing voice filled the grove, and as Eren looked over at her, she seemed to be on the verge of full-blown panic. “A _mountain lion?_ In the Giant forest? Could there be more out there?”

Eren understood where she came from. He had never heard of a mountain lion that far east, but then he had also learned to never take anything for granted in those woods. And he understood her worry, but he didn’t like the way she so easily spread unease and terror between their peers. So thankfully, Sasha spoke up before the fear could really take a grip in the youths.

“I highly doubt it. They’re seen once every year ‘round here. So unless Ymir and Christa keeps messin’ with probability, we should be fine.”

Hitch sent a murderous glance in Ymir’s way, as if she really could be held responsible for the migration of mountain lions, and Christa squeezed her hand reassuringly, but Ymir seemed caught in a whole other dimension. But clasping his hands together, Erwin called on everyone's attention.

“Well, that’s more than enough excitement for one day.” Walking over to Ymir and Christa, he gently grabbed hold of Ymir’s shoulder and managed to catch her aloof gaze. “Why don’t you two get into bed.”

Ignoring the principal’s unintentional innuendo, Ymir didn't even come with a snarky comeback, just nodded her head weakly and allowed him to lead her and Christa into the cabin.

And as Eren walked over to bump into Mikasa softly, Sasha sat down next to Connie by the fireplace. And as Connie wrapped a blanket around them both, Mikasa smiled warmly at Eren as they watched them.

“I didn’t wanna kill her, Con,” Sasha muttered grumpily as she leaned her head on Connie’s shoulder, and he reached over to slowly rub her back.

“She forced your hand.”

“I know. It sucks.”

Mikasa softly punched Eren on the arm in farewell before she walked over to catch up with Armin, and left Eren on his own. He looked up at the dark night sky, at the bright moon shining down on them and the twinkling stars illuminating the rest of the heavens. And he quickly sent a prayer to Allah, thanking him that no one had gotten hurt that day.

He had long ago learned to not take anything for granted in the Giant forest. Because anything was possible in those mountains.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How many of you thought I was gonna say "bent over a table"?
> 
> ...
> 
> It's three in the morning and I don't know what I'm doing anymore.
> 
> I don't know, man.
> 
> I'm swamped in homework. But I've decided to pour all of my energy into this instead. That's not at all going to come back and bite me in the behind in a few weeks. Oh well.
> 
> I just realized that I forgot that Daz got hurt. But then I realized that Eren would probably forget that too. So yeah.
> 
> I'll probably return to edit this better in the morning, but I really needed to update this now, so... _Yeah._


End file.
